Cheshire walks: Tatton Park

Fancy a walk? Okay, get your boots on and rug up warm. It's only 2 degrees Celsius outside so you'll need a couple of jumpers and a cosy jacket, a warm woolly scarf and hat, and don't forget your gloves. Ready? Then, let's go ...

We're going for a stroll through Tatton Park, on the edge of the charming little town of Knutsford. There are 1000 acres of parkland for Joe public to enjoy so we won't see everything but I can promise you lots of beautiful old trees, some large expanses of water, rolling farmland and almost certainly a variety of wildlife.

You can see we've had a heavy frost overnight – I reckon we hit minus 2. No snow yet, but Jack Frost still paints a pretty picture. I particularly like the grasses when they're coated in ice like this.

It's crunchy underfoot but that just makes it easier to walk over the muddiness caused by all that rain last week. Watch you don't slide on the icy patches though. And if you're still a kid at heart like me, no doubt you'll want to crack some of the sheets of ice on the puddles.

You can see we're not the only ones out enjoying the bracing air and clear, crisp morning. With Tatton Park being so close to the town centre, it's a popular place for the more serious power walkers and joggers, as well as those just wanting a gentle stroll or taking their dogs for a walk.

You can see how cold it must have been in the wee hours – one end of Tatton Mere has iced over. It would be amazing to see the whole lake frozen over and to have people skating on it, though I’m not sure that ever happens  -- it’s such a big expanse of water – and it wouldn’t be so good for the birds that live on it. Whenever I’ve visited, there have always been lots of ducks and coots about.

Even Joe Crow has been doing a spot of fishing in the lake today and either he caught himself a juicy fish or, more likely, he pinched it from someone else.

Oh look, deer! Tatton Park has been a deer park since 1290 and large herds of red and fallow deer roam the wide open spaces with us walkers. You can usually get quite close to them, though there are certain times of year when it’s best to stay well away – when the stags are roaring and when the fawns are very young. These are red deer and I’m sure we’ll see some fallow deer as we stroll on.

Yes, there are the fallow deer. You can see their spots quite easily and they look a little smaller than the red deer though I’m certainly no expert.

Don't you just love to see the resident swans gliding so elegantly on the mere. There were cygnets here in the summer too – I’m not sure if they’re still about. And aren’t the reeds looking lovely? They’re such a rich amber brown at this time of year.

If you look over the fields to your left, you can see the magnificent mansion. We won’t visit today but if you remember, I visited the house when I was here in the summer. It’s simply splendid inside so you really should go for a wander around.

Now, there's some birdlife I'm not familiar with. They're the size of geese but those markings are certainly unusual. Do you know them?

[When I got home I looked them up. These are Egyptian Geese, an introduced wildfowl species that escaped its domesticity and is now breeding successfully in the wild. I'm not sure if these are resident at Tatton Park or are just visiting for the winter.]

There are some more deer on the hilltop. You can see how close walkers can get to them.

And look over there at the huge swan on the bank of the mere. You don't realise what big birds they are until they're out of the water like that.

Well, it's beginning to cloud up and I've worked up an appetite from all this walking. Let's head back to Knutsford and have some lunch in one of the good range of cafes and restaurants they have in town. I hope you've enjoyed your stroll. I know I have! And thanks for your company. We must do this again soon.

England: Dunham Massey and the Pirates of Penzance

While I was in Cheshire, I had two visits to Dunham Massey estate – it’s one of the National Trust’s most excellent properties so was yet another instance where I could use my newly bought annual membership card – such value for money!   

Our first visit was for entertainment and we arrived too late to tour the house but did have a wander around the charming gardens, with their dazzling display of roses, lush herbaceous borders and exquisite flowering shrubs. Kaleidoscopic butterflies fluttered from bloom to bloom and the leg sacs of pollen-gathering bees glowed bright yellow.

Delight then turned to hilarity, as we set up our deck chairs on the lawn, enjoyed our picnic dinner and the evening’s entertainment began. Illyria is an open-air touring theatre company that performs all types of plays, from Gilbert and Sullivan to Shakespeare, at venues ranging from stately homes to parks throughout the UK and in Europe. Their performance of The Pirates of Penzance was laugh-out-loud funny. Amazingly, there was no rain, the crowd was very good-natured, and the garden setting perfect, spoiled only slightly by the background noise of flights taking off from Manchester airport (which are more frequent in the summer months as holidaymakers head off to their favourite Mediterranean destinations). What better way to enjoy a warm English summer evening!

Our second visit to Dunham Massey was a week or so later. At the moment, due to 2014 being the centenary of the start of World War One, the mansion has been partly transformed back to how it was from April 1917 to February 1919 when Dunham Massey became the Stamford Military Hospital, one of the 3244 auxiliary hospitals created to treat the war-wounded. By the time it closed, 282 soldiers had found sanctuary from the trenches in Dunham’s beautiful surroundings.

The recreated hospital is based on original records from the Dunham Massey archives and several rooms have been transformed into wards, soldiers’ living room, an operating theatre, etc., with detailed displays quoting soldiers who were treated there and the personnel who treated them. The recreation was very well done, with messages from the soldiers written on the pillows of their hospital beds and sounds (of men struggling to breath or moaning) brought a touch of reality to the scene. There were also brief profiles of the soldiers, and actors silently recreating some of the activities – a nurse rolling bandages, a solider playing the card game Patience.

The rest of the house remains much as it was when the last occupant Roger Grey, the 10th Earl of Stamford, died in 1910 – he bequeathed the house, its contents and the 3000-acre estate to the National Trust. One of the more notable pieces of furniture in the mansion is the State Bed (above right). Raised on gilded feet and topped with ostrich feathers, it mostly dates from the 1680s – it has been altered twice in its 300-plus-year history. In those days, beds were the most expensive items of furniture in houses and were left to subsequent generations in wills. Amazingly, the crimson-coloured silk velvet, gold-coloured silk and silver-and-gold-embroidery all date from the 17th century.

Though a very grand house, some of the other rooms at Dunham Massey were quite homely and comfortable, finely furnished but with familiar items like photographs and piles of newspapers. I really liked that! And I loved the library – always a favourite place of mine.

After our walk through the house, we checked out the old water mill. The history of water mills on the estate dates back to 1347, though the present mill dates from 1616. Amazingly, it was working until March this year, when part of the wheel broke off. A shortage of elm (following the devastation of elm trees by Dutch Elm Disease) and the need to raise money for the repair has meant a delay in getting everything working again but the mill should be up and running by the start of summer 2015. It was originally used to grind wheat, malt and barley but was converted to a water-powered sawmill in the 1860s. It was fascinating to hear the guide explain the workings.

We also strolled along a couple of the long tree-lined avenues that radiate out from the house. The estate is well stocked with fallow deer and, luckily, these elegant creatures are not particularly shy of human visitors. We watched them for quite a time and were able to get close enough for good photos. A wonderful way to finish off a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon!

England: Tatton Park, Cheshire

During my three weeks in Cheshire I visited the National Trust property Tatton Park twice – if I lived close by, I’d be there every day. 

The first time we arrived at lunchtime so we tucked in to delicious jacket potatoes, salad and tea before heading out to explore the large, multi-faceted garden. Its features include a Japanese garden, huge trees, long walks, a large pond full of waterlilies (sadly, not flowering) and the biggest gunnera I’ve ever seen.

There’s a tower, once useful, now a folly. From the signboard: ‘Maurice Egerton, the last Lord Egerton, chose the Tower Garden to impress his guests.… the tower featured on the Ordnance Survey map of 1750. Its original purpose was to watch for sheep stealing on the park. In later years it was not unusual for this tower to house a hermit whose role was to ‘frighten’ house guests as they enjoyed the garden in the evening.’

There’s a gorgeous rose garden, a large well-stocked walled kitchen garden, and benches galore (I’m a big fan of garden benches!). The maze was great fun. From the signboard: ‘According to records Tatton’s maze was already well established by 1795. Planted with a mixture of deciduous Hornbeam and Beech obviously means it’s only possible to get totally lost in summer! It … has exactly the same plan as the maze at Hampton Court Palace in London.’

Laid out on the slopes below the mansion is a symmetrical Italian garden, probably the result of one of the family members absorbing Italian influences during their ‘Grand Tour’ of Europe. From the signboard: the garden was ‘Commissioned and completed in 1890 and designed by Joseph Paxton, the statue of Neptune acts as a centrepiece and was brought from Venice in 1920'.

The house itself was closed that day (Monday) but we saw it during our second visit. That day we spent several hours enjoying a long walk around Tatton’s huge expanse of parkland before touring round the Neo-Classical mansion of the Egerton family.

We saw red and fallow deer, surprising some red fawns hiding in the long grass; various butterflies, damsel and dragonflies that we chased through the long grass for photos; a pond with yellow and white waterlilies, the former native, the latter probably not; and beautiful long avenues of trees.

We’d worked up an appetite so lunched in the restaurant again – this time, being Sunday, the place was full of people – families, with kids having rides on the carousel and indulging in icecreams, as we did later – and all the shops were open (produce from the park’s farms, including rabbit and venison – oh poor Bambi!), the garden shop (so gardeners could take home a living souvenir of their visit), the gift shop (all the National Trust properties stock lovely gifts).

The mansion was better than I expected, as it’s not particularly imposing from the front, but it had some gorgeously appointed rooms – the library and music room were my personal favourites. I particularly love how people in past times weren’t afraid of colour, with yellow, pink and green walls in different rooms (not bland cream everywhere), and the rooms contained possessions with character and meaning (not that season's offerings from the Ikea catalogue). 

There were gorgeous ceilings in the downstairs rooms; a grand sweeping staircase to the upstairs where only a couple of rooms were open; an interesting cellar level, where we found the kitchen, bakery, dairy, linen and china closet, and an ingenious miniature rail system designed to bring in the huge amount of coal needed to heat such a large house in wintertime. 

If you’re in the vicinity of Tatton Park, I’d definitely recommend a visit – it’s tremendous!