Barnsley's unspolied beauty (Cannon Hall (Barnsley))

Member Name: louanna8

Product:	Cannon Hall (Barnsley)
Date:	02/06/09 (16 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Beautiful and lots to do for adults and children

Disadvantages: Farm area a little too commercialised

Cannon Hall is a country house museum that was opened to the public in 1957 but has been in existence since the 13th century (although a house under another name was shown to be on this site in the 1086 Domesday Survey.) Surrounding the house is 70 acres of parkland and on the same site is an open farm.

Situated near to the village of Cawthorne, part of the Barnsley Borough, Cannon Hall can be easily reached along the A635 from Barnsley town centre. It has ample parking in both the main and top car parks. Parking is £2.50 for cars and £5 for coaches but there is no charge for accessing the park, museum or gardens.

The park is open all year round and is very popular. In summer the park is an ideal place for walking, picnics and games in the summer and is visited by hundreds of families. In winter it is no less beautiful and is a draw to dog walkers from the Barnsley area. I've been numerous times and have always found the park clean and tidy (very rarely a piece of rubbish lying around.) Also, a little mention to the park rangers there who spent two hours helping find my dog after he slipped his lead. Very helpful people!

The museum is also worth a look with a collection of paintings, ceramics, glass and furniture including the painting "Mrs Tuder" by John Constable. Upstairs there is 'Charge' which is the museum of the 13th/18th Royal Hussars and the Light Dragoons. It is all quite interesting and, in my opinon, of good standard for a fairly small museum. Furthermore, I have always found that the staff there are genuinely enthusiastic and willing to share their knowledge.Various rooms can be booked out for weddings, christmas dinners etc. I've heard from friends that these functions are always very enjoyable with excellent food and a fantastic ambience and they have been recommended to me several times.

The large farm is not technically part of the museum but I'll still write a little about it. It includes a tearoom, farm shop, gift shop, deli and adventure playground. Not much more than 5 years ago there was little there but a small farm and tearoom and it truly has esculated in size. Unfortunately this means that now there is a real commercial feel to the place. The farm shop is still very popular and sells good, fresh produce but seems to be deteriorating in quality a bit. Also, a little worrying is the sight of cheese being delivered from a Dutch lorry.
The farm is good fun for children and there are often school parties visiting. Also, it is good value at £3.50 for kids and £3.95 for adults. The range of animals is pretty impressive too with everything from sheep, piglets, ponies, cows and donkeys to llamas, alpacas, wallabies and boars. It really is a mixed bag and when I visited with my two young cousins (6 and 8 years) they both found it fascinating and could have hapilly spent hours there.
The farm is good but needs to stop growing before it starts to take away from the natural and relatively unspoilt park.

Summary: I recommend anyone to visit with children and a picnic.