Emerging from our bubble and a visit to Upton House

It’s taken a few false starts – the weather was against me with torrential rain the first time I had a National Trust slot, then the second time N was ill and wasn’t leaving the house. But finally at the 3rd attempt, I’ve been able to get out of the house for a National Trust visit. First on my list as it’s only round the corner, was Upton House.

N had said no to coming with me – too much photo taking, and a walk round a garden isn’t interesting for him.  He did then moan that he’d be stuck with his dad doing boring jobs on the farm. But hard luck kiddo. So I was going to be free to do what I wanted and take as many photos as I wanted.

With the gradual easing that’s going on post Covid peaks, It’s nice to be able to get out and have a bit of normality, although with a few differences.

Upton House is a smaller property, so I knew it would be a short visit, but I was keen to see the mirror lake. I haven’t been since it was cleaned out and refilled.

I was first through the gate as I had the first timed slot of the day. There were only about 8-10 people there at the same time so it was easy to stay socially distanced. They also had in place a one way system around the gardens which was easy to follow on the map provided.  One family just had young boys who wanted to run around the lawn, but the rest of us were walking around the gardens.

There were a couple of areas blocked off – you couldn’t go onto the kitchen garden terraces and only one route down to the bottom. But there were several options of route on the one way system so you could divert off in more open areas of the garden.

The mirror lake was looking beautiful. On a sunny day, get the angle right and you get the clouds and sky reflected perfectly. I had some fun with my lensball, and photographing the flowers alongside. Add to that some great floral backgrounds and walls for selfies, and I had a really enjoyable photography walk around the grounds.

The route finished up the hill and back out past the orchard.   The cafe was open with a one way system but I didn’t want anything so walked back to the car via the woodland walk. 

As I left I noticed more people were arriving. I don’t know how busy it would get later through the day, but as there’s not much to see and the Upton House grounds aren’t the biggest, I would imagine most people don’t stay long.  I was there for an hour so it’s a nice change of scene. 

I’m definitely looking forward to my next visit to another National Trust property soon.- it’s a great time of year to go if you’re a flower fan, because the gardens always look so pretty. Just ditch the moaning children unless there’s a playground open.

Have you visited any National Trust properties since they’ve reopened?