Tatton Park

The National Trust owns Tatton Park, but centuries ago it used to be owned by the Egerton family. My family decided to go there in the October half term for a day out. My dad searched on the internet for a fun place to go, when he came across Tatton Park.



¤//¤ THE GRAND ENTRANCE ¤//¤

It took us about 40 minutes travelling from Liverpool by car. When we arrived we had to pay for parking and it cost £4.20, ...
...to the other side of Tatton Park, so we could go to the play area and to the mansion. It took us about half an hour to walk there, but guided by the map we were given on the way we knew where we were going.



¤//¤ THE PARK ¤//¤

We reached the park and it was amazing, not like your usual one. My sister and I ran over to the obstacle course first of all, which consisted of monkey bars, tightropes, tyre swings, ... more

The National Trust owns Tatton Park, but centuries ago it used to be owned by the Egerton family. My family decided to go there in the October half term for a day out. My dad searched on the internet for a fun place to go, when he came across Tatton Park.

¤//¤ THE GRAND ENTRANCE ¤//¤

It took us about 40 minutes travelling from Liverpool by car. When we arrived we had to pay for parking and it cost £4.20, which I thought was quite expensive. We paid the man at the tollbooth who was very welcoming and cheery, and then we drove on our way. Past the barrier there were fields stretching for miles, and we saw dozens of sheep grazing on the grass, but there were no railings or anything fencing them in which I thought was good. Also, to our astonishment there were deer and stags happily grazing beside them which I've never seen before. As we drove further trying to find the car park, we passed a lake that looked very tranquil and calming. After the lake we reached one of the many car parks and proceeded to read the map to find out where to go.

¤//¤ OUTSIDE THE CAR… ¤//¤

We got out of the car and my two sisters and I nagged our dad to go to the haunted house first and so he agreed. We walked down the path to the hall, and found one of those wooden stocks, so we stuck one of my sisters in one and walked away. Only joking, we were forced to let her out otherwise people might've grown suspicious. Lol. Entering the reception area we were greeted by three witches (NOTE: I think the haunted hall and everything to do with Halloween only happens in October) so we bought our tickets to go into the haunted house. One of the witches stamped us all with an orange skull, but when we were inside nobody actually checked that we had them. My sisters and I also received a puzzle page and a pencil to complete it. Walking out of the reception area, there were a few various stalls creating a nice atmosphere. One was a burger and hot-dog stand, another a mini carousel and a stand where you have to hook a duck to win a prize. We all walked boldly towards the haunted house, all thinking that it would just be loads of statues and props - we were so wrong. A man and his two daughters ran out of the entrance of the hall, his daughter swearing that she would never step foot in there again, but I just assumed that she was a big scaredy-cat.

¤//¤ THE HAUNTED HOUSE ¤//¤

As soon as you enter there is a strong scent of burning, and another witch greets you and welcomes you in. On the puzzle sheet you are supposed to write down all the objects that are pointed out, and then rearrange the first letters to reveal a spooky word. Inside the hall it was very dark, the only source of light coming from candles. We slowly walked forwards towards the staircase, keeping our wits about us when suddenly a woman that had been sitting motionless jumped out at us. Because it was so sudden and unexpected, I screamed my head off and ran a mile. We were all really tense now, and I pushed my dad in front so that if anyone else jumped out he'd be the first to get it.

As we were climbing the stairs another monster ran after us, so we got another massive fright. When we got upstairs we looked into the rooms and found some clues, and in the rooms there were a few props - what we had originally expected. By now we were all very skeptical about walking forwards and my dad was like our guinea pig, testing out the rooms before we went in. There was a 'prop' standing beside a doorway, so I ran through it praying that he wouldn't jump out at me, but when my little sister came through he sprang back into life and started asking her to give him bogies (he was the bogie man!) and from the look on her face I could tell she was petrified. We went back downstairs and found the rest of the clues but while we were looking in one of the rooms a witch ran out, and I was so shocked I screamed and ran a mile again.

¤//¤ AGAIN, AGAIN! ¤//¤

When we got out we were so relieved, but all agreed that it was a fantastic experience. It was so good that me, my sisters and my mum all wanted to go back in but my dad didn't want to. We all told him that he was a big scaredy-cat but he made his excuses and left us to go back in alone. The 'monsters' in the hall didn't stay in the same places, which made the second visit better. We found my dad again and we found him sitting there picking his teeth, and we discovered that he had ate a burger on the sly!

We walked back to the car and had a bite to eat before trekking to the other side of Tatton Park, so we could go to the play area and to the mansion. It took us about half an hour to walk there, but guided by the map we were given on the way we knew where we were going.

¤//¤ THE PARK ¤//¤

We reached the park and it was amazing, not like your usual one. My sister and I ran over to the obstacle course first of all, which consisted of monkey bars, tightropes, tyre swings, zip wires and climbing frames. Once we had completed them all, we went on some of the more unusual things. There was a seesaw, but it was in the shape of the letter 'T' with the seats hanging down from the top bar. There was also a revolving swing that goes forwards and backwards and spins at the same time, which was quite good. The best one was a swing that had a basket instead of a seat, meaning that you could fit three or four people on it at once, and everyone seemed to enjoy it.

We felt slightly puckish so my dad treated us all to an ice cream from the ice cream van just outside the park.

¤//¤ BUILDING THE MANSION ¤//¤

Our last visit was to the mansion where the Egertons used to live. The Egerton family lived in the old hall (the haunted house) for centuries, before building the mansion. The architect who designed the mansion started to build it, but sadly died soon after starting. His nephew continued the work but he changed a few minor things like the amount of windows etc.

¤//¤ THE MANSION EXTERIOR ¤//¤

The view of the mansion from the lake is amazing; it is extremely large and has very grand pillars at the front. There are about seven windows on the bottom floor, but then there are two additional buildings at the sides so I think you can probably imagine how large it is. At the entrance where visitors walk in, there are two luxurious gates that I am assuming were only put in in recent years, because when the Egertons owned it there would not be any impostors, because the land was owned completely by them. Next to the gates there is another gate that people can walk through, though I must say that it was rather rusty and creaked when we walked through. From the outside the mansion was very impressive, but even more so from the inside…

¤//¤ THE MANSION INTERIOR ¤//¤

On arrival at the mansion you walk to the desk where you have to pay the entry fee, and you get another quiz sheet with a pencil. For this quiz you have to find the letters beside the miniature pumpkins. The first rooms are all downstairs.

The ceilings were all beautifully decorated, they were very intricately detailed and it must have taken ages for somebody to paint them all. There was antique furniture in all of the rooms and lots of paintings that hung from chains which where fed from the ceilings (they were too heavy to be nailed directly onto the walls). There were huge mirrors on the walls as well; in one room there were two that almost filled up the whole room!

Within most of the rooms there were extra puzzles, which made it an even better experience. There was staff in most of the rooms, giving information about the history of the mansion and the occupants. We finished looking at the rooms downstairs and then went upstairs. One thing I noticed was that the steps were much smaller than average, and I could of took them easily three at a time. When going up the stairs there were lot of paintings of the Egertons. One of the paintings at the top of the stairs caught my eye when one of the staff pointed it out. The feet of the man pointed towards you whatever direction you were facing, and even spookier - so did the eyes!

When we went into the bedroom the first thing that I noticed was that the bed was tiny. Back then I'm sure that the people must have been very small. They also had a canopy over the bed. The lady told us that years and years ago people didn't have roofs on their houses so they would get splattered with bird poo and creepy crawlies, so they invented canopies. At the time The Egertons were around they didn't need them any more but they still used them as an accessory. The next room we went into was the bedroom of the young prince and princess of Wales, which I found quite fascinating. The room had a lovely view of the gardens as well.

The final part of the mansion was the cellar and kitchen. Down in the cellars was where the servants slept and prepared the food, and we had a short look at the rooms and then went into the kitchen. In the kitchen they had a variety of plastic food, to show us what sort of food they ate. After the kitchen we had finished looking around the mansion and so we left. We trekked back to the car park and then left Tatton Park for the journey home.

¤//¤ OTHER ATTRACTIONS ¤//¤

If you didn't like the sound of the mansion or the old hall, or simply want to know what else there is here goes…
▪ The gardens - You can visit the gardens (a whole 50 acres!) but you have to pay the entry fee. The gardens include: an Orangery, a Fernery, Italian gardens, Rose gardens and a unique Japanese garden. Within these gardens there are rare plant species to see.
▪ Home farm - We were unaware that there was a farm, but it is closed from the 1st of October to the 28th of February, so it wouldn't be much use to us anyway. The farm has remained unchanged since the 1930's.
▪ Shops and restaurants - I am aware that these aren't attractions, but I thought I'd mention them anyway. These sell Tatton's own produce.

¤//¤ CONCLUSION ¤//¤

To sum up, Tatton Park is a lovely place to visit and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The haunted house was terrifying to say the least but it was fantastic. The park was like no other, and the mansion was spectacular. A downside was the prices of going into the hall and mansion and also the price of parking, but overall it was well worth it. I would highly recommend Tatton Park to families, but maybe not so much to those with really young children or disabled people because there is quite a far way to walk, and I'm not sure if the mansion or the hall can accommodate for wheelchairs. There are special events happening throughout the year, and I would suggest going when one of these is on to make the experience extra special.

¤//¤ FURTHER INFORMATION ¤//¤

»Tatton Park is in the North West of England, near to the town of Knutsford, Cheshire.
»Tatton Park is signposted from Junction 7 of the M56 and Junction 19 of the M6. The entrance to the park is approximately half a mile from Knutsford Railway Station.
»Most attractions are closed on Mondays, except for bank holidays.

»Vehicle Entry Charge £4.20 - applies to all visitors including National Trust members

»Prices per Attraction
Adult £3.50
Child (4 - 15 years) £2
Family (2 adults and up to 3 children) £9

»Discovery Saver Ticket (Entry to two attractions)
Adult £5
Child (4 - 15 years) £3
Family (2 adults and up to 3 children) £13.50

»National Trust Members
Free entry to the Mansion and Gardens
50% discount to Old Hall and Farm

If you require any more information, then just go to the website: www.tattonpark.org.uk

Thanks for reading
© fashionista27 

...less