Day Trips from Manchester

In Brief. Little Moreton Hall is a now somewhat wonky timber framed manor house dating from the 16th century, located just south of Congleton in Cheshire.  The name is (Little Moreton) Hall - the hall in Little Moreton, and not Little (Moreton Hall), the hall that is smaller than some other hall in Moreton.  Indeed, although the grounds are quite compact, mostly being inside a moat round the property, the house is quite substantial, featuring a striking courtyard and a decorated long gallery at the top of the building.  The Hall and the Moat. What's Here? Little Moreton Hall, despite its seemingly humble name, is distinguished by two vanity projects. The hall is surrounded by a moat, which is felt to have been built as a status symbol, and which encompasses the compact formal gardens and a lawn.  Furthermore, the top floor is dominated by a long gallery that spans from one end of the hall to another, the weight of which may have contributed to the irregular walls an...

In Brief. Biddulph Grange is a compact but diverse National Trust garden in Staffordshire. Like many gardens, it is open all year, so I decided to visit it in each of the four seasons, to see how it changes through the year, and to understand if recurring visits are worthwhile beyond the consistently excellent scones. An earlier blog in this series describes a one-off visit to the garden, and thus provides a more general review. The house from the lake, 30th January 2023 What's Here and When? Winter : The garden is not colourful in the winter, but many parts of the garden are as good at this time of year as any. There are several paths through wooded areas (Lyme Avenue, Wellington Avenue), and there are gardens defined more by their architecture than their plants (China, The Glen). Thus although there are areas that feature seasonal plants, the garden is still highly visitable for its landscaping when the predominant colours are green and brown. The rhododendrons are coming into ...

In Brief. The trees in the gardens at Erddig Hall and Gardens , which is run by the National Trust, are claimed to have given rise to 136 varieties of apple this year.  Erddig doesn't seem to be associated with much of historical significance, having largely been a family home, but has a large hall, an extensive area of parkland, and grand formal gardens with an emphasis on trees and topiary. The nearby Aqueduct at  Pontcysyllte takes a canal over the River Dee, with a narrow footpath and good views for pedestrians. Cider apples from the harvest. What's Here?  Though it has been extended over time, the original Erddig Hall was built in the late 17th Century, and was in the same family for 250 years until it was given to the National Trust in the 1970s, through seven generations of the Yorke family (all named Simon or Philip).  On my visit, only the below stairs areas were open, and these tend to seem pretty similar from stately home to stately home, though in this ...

In Brief. Chirk Castle , between Wrexham and Oswestry, was originally built in the 13th Century as part of Edward I's infrastructure for subduing the Welsh, along with other well known castles such as Conwy and Caernarfon. However, it has been subject to a series of renovations over the centuries, and is now largely a country house (with a dungeon and a fine garden). Nearby is the British Ironwork Center , to add diversity to a day trip, with numerous iron sculptures, mostly of animals, and intimidating afternoon teas. Chirk Castle from the wood. What's Here? Chirk castle is a country house occupying an imposing 13th Century castle. As a building, the Castle features robust towers and an airy quadrangle that includes outside seating for the cafe. Trudging up from the carpark past the uninspiring kitchen garden to the imposing walls, I wondered if this was going to be a poor relation to some other National Trust properties, but not at all!  For the most part, it is hard to see C...

In Brief. Tatton Park is a substantial estate that was owned for over 400 years by members of the Egerton family. The current neo-classical mansion was built in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and many of the fixtures and fittings date from that period. However, the outdoor spaces are probably more visited than the mansion, and there are extensive and varied gardens, including a Japanese Garden and an arboretum. For younger visitors, there is also the farm, which includes both historic buildings like the mill and a collection of farm animals from rare breeds. The mansion from the gardens. What's Here? Tatton is an impressive estate, and everything comes on a grand scale. I started with a walk round the gardens, where there are airy lawns, many impressive trees inside and outside the arboretum, ornate topiary, a variety of ponds and an extensive Japanese garden.  There is even a compact formal Italian Garden, but the scale of the rest of the garden rather leaves it as a foo...

In Brief. Hardwick Hall is a grand, well preserved Elizabethan country house, run by the National Trust, with a walled garden and extensive grounds. The adjacent garden includes an orchard and some fine views over the fields, but the highlight is the house. Built for a grand dame of the Elizabethan period, the hall retains many of its original features, being largely spared from generations of home improvements. The site also includes the adjacent  Hardwick Old Hall , which is run by English Heritage, but they certainly drew the short straw as only the shell of the Old Hall survives. What's Here. Hardwick Hall was built to suit the needs and reflect the status of Bess of Hardwick (1521-1608), who was born on the site, outlived a succession of husbands, and accumulated significant wealth in the process.  Her initials (ES - Elizabeth Shrewsbury) adorn the towers. The house spent a considerable time in the possession of descendants who also owned the even more imposing Chatswor...

In Brief. Speke Hall is a grand Tudor house managed by the National Trust, surrounded by lawns, low-key formal gardens and woodland. The interior of the hall lacks the scale of some country houses, such as Lyme , but includes ornate wooden panelling and furniture, and light partly comes from a striking interior courtyard.  The gardens provide varied views of the hall, and woodland walks help to justify a visit to the restaurant for a scone. Speke Hall from the South Lawn What's Here? Speke is a substantial Tudor country house, which was developed under two families from the 16th to the 19th Century.  The hall has lawns on three sides, providing diverse views of the striking exterior. The interior features a substantial collection of ornate 19th century oak furniture that may seem rather ornate and gloomy to modern eyes, but certainly is not typical of country house furniture. There are also exhibitions on the persecution facing Catholic families, such as the owners of Speke, ...

 In Brief. Quarry Bank mill, with its associated workers village and apprentice house preserve and provide insights into the cotton industry that drove the industrialisation of Manchester and surrounding towns. The mill is substantial, and provides exhibits and demonstrations that track the transition from cottage industry to industrial production. The owners and workers lived on site, and a visit provides access to kitchen and leisure gardens, as well as to the area housing the worker's cottages. The mill from the gardens. What's Here? Quarry Bank mill, which was in use from the 1780s to the 1960s, is a substantial site, with the mill at the centre. Located on the River Bollin, which still drives a waterwheel, the mill now provides a series of exhibition and demonstration spaces that show how cotton production evolved from a hands-on task at home to a large-scale industrialised process. The mill has working equipment that tracks the process from cotton bale to cloth, as well ...

In Brief. Hare Hill is a compact but varied garden run by the National Trust. The centrepiece is a spacious walled garden, with borders and sculptures, but there are a variety of areas with different characters, including ponds and rock gardens. The walled garden. What's Here? Hare Hill was once the garden of the adjacent, late 18th Century, Hare Hill Hall, which is visible from parts of the garden. The garden was redeveloped in the mid 20th Century by Colonel Charles Brocklehurst, who bequeathed the garden to the National Trust.  The walled garden contains statues in memory of the twin brother of Charles Brocklehurst, who was killed at 26 in a riding accident. The borders. The garden itself is a relaxing place; it is not not grand enough to be imposing, and given its modest scale, seems like a place for leisurely meandering.  There are a wide variety of trees, colourful rhododendrons in the spring, and different areas have varying characters - there is an area with ponds and...

In Brief. Biddulph Grange is perhaps the Bohemian Rhapsody of gardens - a collection of diverse components, combined in an unpredictable way into something that somehow makes sense. Though the work of a small team of garden designers in the mid 19th century, Biddulph Grange includes many different elements, some regional (Chinese, Egyptian and Italian Gardens), some by species (Rhododendron Ground and Lyme Avenue), and some that are altogether more difficult to pin down. These individual spaces are largely invisible from each other, sometimes connected by tunnels or buildings, giving rise to a series of new and engaging vistas. The Pond and Rhododendron Ground in May What's Here? Biddulph Grange is a National Trust garden developed in Victorian times by and for James Bateman, a botanist and Gardner who inherited sufficient wealth to allow him to explore his interests on a grand scale. However, the deep interest in plants hasn't resulted in a cerebral garden; instead the garde...