Charlecote Park in Warwickshire is one of my favourite National Trust properties. I first found out about it when someone I knew got engaged here and loved the look of the photos they posted! This review of Charlecote Park has been written over multiple visits as not all of the property was open during each visit.
I’ve been a member of the National Trust for well over a decade, and this visit was self-funded but I am an affiliate for the National Trust as well. Membership starts at just £7.60 per month for a single adult family or £12.20 for a two adult family. You can look at the various membership options here.
Although it’s in Warwickshire, you can actually visit between school runs. It only takes just over an hour to get there so you get quite a few hours on site before you have to get back in the car. There are lots of things to do here; the house, the deer park, a lovely little woodland garden, secret houses, a church, a Victorian kitchen and various out-houses.
The wider grounds
If the season is right, you can explore the deer park which is a lovely walk. They also have rare breeds of cows and sheep in the fields you can have a look at. The deer are used to having people around so, as long as you’re quiet you can get relatively close to the herd. In fact, the last time we visited them came over to us! You are asked to stick to the main footpaths though so you don’t disturb them. It was actually at Charlecote that I got to see two stags fighting, which was a spectacular sight.
In the wider parkland there are some awesome fallen trees for you to clamber over. There’s the riverside (both the rivers Dene and Avon meet on the site) and lakeside walks. There is also the family church at the edge of the estate. You are welcome to have a look around but the gate is one way, if you want to go back into the grounds you have to go back through the visitor entrance.
The grounds
Back to the main grounds. It’s definitely worth having a look around the outbuildings. There’s the laundry (makes you very grateful for washing machines), a brewery, a Victorian kitchen and scullery and a large carriage collection. In the kitchens there are lots of cool things to have a look at such as a Victorian freezer and, if there are volunteers available, there may be cooking going on as well.
If you read the first version of this Charlecote Park review you’ll know I talked about the tack room. On our most recent visit the tack room was closed. We did visit in winter though, and the trail video had been filmed in there so I don’t know if it’s open at other times of the year.
On one of the days that we visited the gatehouse was open to visitors. Inside there was a little, very eclectic museum and we got to go onto the roof as well. We happened to be up there just as the bell was about to ring so Middle Child got to watch, and hear, the bell ringing which he thought was very cool.
The formal gardens
There are various sections to the formal gardens, including a relatively small Parterre. There is also the Orangery cafe which does a lovely scone. There’s a little lawn area at the front which is perfect for picnics. There’s also this little hidden house. You cannot go into it but can still have a good look through the window. There’s an outside seating area outside which is next to the play area of the woodland garden.
On our most recent visit to Charlecote Park the formal gardens were closed because of high winds so it wasn’t possible to see how it’s changed since they started all of their work. I guess I’ll just have to go back again!
The house
The house itself isn’t suitable for pushchairs or large bags, but you can store these securely with the volunteers. There’s a children’s trail within the house and the volunteers were all more than happy to engage with the kids each time we’ve been inside. The house itself doesn’t have that many rooms open because it’s still lived in by members of the Lucy family but the rooms that are open are fascinating.
There is currently a lot of work happening at Charlecote as they try to improve the various things on site. It will be interesting to see what changes they continue to make.
Our Charlecote Park Review
Charlecote Park has got some really interesting elements that other NT properties don’t have – such as the laundry and brewery. The formal gardens are quite small and there’s no children’s playground so it would be easy to say that this place isn’t particularly family friendly. But actually we’ve taken the kids several times and enjoyed it. The wider park is great for letting the kids run around. They do really good trails during the school holidays.
Admission Cost
FREE for National Trust members. Family ticket is £41.30 (2 adults)/£24.80 (1 adult) for house and garden entry.
Parking / How to get there
Address – Wellesbourne, Warwick, Warwickshire, CV35 9ER
Parking – there is a free car park across the road. This has recently been extended. The car park can fill up on busy days, particularly if there is an event on. If you’re travelling a distance it’s best to get there earlier in the day if possible.
Toilets
Various places on-site. There are currently no toilets in the car park and it will take a few minutes to walk to the nearest ones. Trust me this is not ideal when you’ve just driven for 90 minutes and need the loo!
Food
Three cafes on site. Picnics welcome.
