Mummy Diaries | Glorious Gardens & Ascott House

Tuesday 31 July 2018

Ascott House & Gardens is a National Trust property, not far from us in Wing. Mum had been before, quite recently in fact (when staying with a friend in Potterspury) – but she suggested we go there sometime, as she has NT membership and gets in for free (and that meant free entry for me, too). Ash was finishing work early anyway, so we decided to have a girlie afternoon... that’s right, no munchkin in tow! I will return though with him, because it was just so beautiful.

Without a membership, it costs £10.50 to visit the house and gardens (£6 for the gardens alone) – and we arranged to look around the house at 4:15pm. With 10-15 minutes to spare, we made our way to the pond area, which was really serene. I could imagine just sitting there for an hour or so, watching the world go by – or the fish in the water!

The house dates back from the early 1600s and is very Tudor in its aesthetics. It was donated to the National Trust in 1949 by Anthony de Rothschild and remains their countryside residence. With that in mind, there were only a number of rooms open up to the public during the tour. I think we spent under half an hour looking around – because there wasn’t really much to see. But my favourite room housed a number of ceramics, mostly Asian-influenced – and the art collection was fairly impressive, too.

Before venturing out into the gardens further, light refreshments were needed. The cafe was lovely, with plenty of outdoor seating in the courtyard, plus a quaint tearoom inside. With hot and cold meals on offer, it was only coffee and cake for us! There were also those fancy tubs of ice cream you get at theatres, which were also massively tempting. Mum and I both opted for lattes, but choosing our cakes was a much tougher decision. I went for the banana cake with cinnamon frosting and mum decided on a raspberry flapjack with yogurt topping (which was huge, but also delicious!). I honestly think I could have managed a slice of each and I need to go back for my cake fix – but luckily we were soon about to walk it off.

The gardens were extensive with bright colourful flowers, a herb garden and fruits and vegetables all growing. The lawns were immaculate and so green – despite the recent heat wave. There are fountains, sculptures and perfectly-manicured hedges... it’s so easy to spend hours in the gardens and even get lost in them! There was also a lovely benched pagoda, slightly out the way, which would be perfect for watching and listening out for birdlife.

Like I say, I want to go back and take Alfie – there were plenty of other mums there with buggies, so it’s definitely baby-friendly. Maybe I’ll wait until he’s walking... or allowed cake! It was lovely to spend a few hours with mum, especially doing something that she enjoys.

Ascott House & Gardens is only open until the middle of September and you can find all the opening times, here.

Love, Lucy xx

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