--Introduction--

Shugborough is a stately home in the Staffordshire countryside near local area of natural beauty Cannock Chase.

The Shugborough estate comprises the park farm for the children, a butter making parlour, a museum, the house itself featuring guides dressed in traditional dress, a lovely tea room/café, an ice cream parlour, a national trust shop, a tower and beautiful gardens and walks. The estate also hosts special events at certain times of year, most notably Halloween, Bonfire Night and Christmas.

--Personal review--

This is a place I've been heading since I was a little girl, living in fairly close vicinity to this stately home and farm. When I was young, we used to go to Shugborough Park Farm, the section specially designed for children featuring a small café, a great play area and various farm animals to feed, hold and look at including horses, pigs, chickens and bunnies (awww!) This makes for a great educational day for the children in teaching them all about farm animals and letting them get hands on in the butter making display and the museum. This is a particularly pleasant visit if it's a sunny day as the farm area has a courtyard where it is possible to sit outside and a variety of pens outside to walk around and look at the animals.

They recently re did some of the play area so it is great fun for all ages and I recall having a fantastic time there with my little brother and my cousins when I was younger! There is ample parking space this end of the estate.

There is a recently built area featuring traditional crafts such as pottery and wood burning, and a beautiful walled garden. These craft shops allow you to try your hand at different crafts or watch the craftsman and then get one to take home with you. I acquired a lovely wooden goblet last time I was there!

The main stately home is an imposing building featured in the Shugborough logo. They do special events here such as weddings I believe, and during the open season you can explore the house including the Lord Lichfield's private quarters telling the story of one of the grandest families of England.

The theme is Victorian and the museum features working Victorian servants quarters, displays of traditional dress and all the kinds of things I devoured as a history hungry kid. It is great to see books of the era brought to life.

The tea room features a choice of delicious lunchtime snacks including soups, sandwiches & jacket potatoes and a choice of tasty desserts and refreshing drinks. This café is reasonably priced and it's lovely to sit outside when it's hot. This also features good wheelchair access. There is an ice cream parlour with little ice cream tubs and the usual Walls selection sold in the summer months.
This end of the estate also has a car park and for those who prefer not to walk to the other end, there is a little train which runs past daily.
Shugborough could easily keep kids entertained for a number of hours as there is quite a lot to do.
It is a nice location to get the family out and moving as from one end of the estate to another it is quite a walk! This walk is suitable for the disabled too and everywhere has wheelchair access so it is very wheelchair friendly.

--Pricing and where to buy tickets--

Season passes are available or you can pay on a one off basis to get in if you don't live in the area. The season passes are quite good value for money - these are £25 for the season each and members enjoy an array of discounts - for more info on this see their website. Here are the rates for a day, so it is fairly pricey but you can make a day of it, and I'd say it's worth getting a season pass if you're going to be going more than once! It is also worth buying in advance to make savings and you can do this by phoning or booking online. If you want to buy on the day, at each gate there is a ticket stand.

Adult - £15 (£12.50 in advance)
Concession - £12 (£10.50 in advance)
Child - £9 (£7.50 in advance)
Family: 2 Adults & up to 3 children - £37.50 (£31 in advance)
Family: 1 Adult & 1 child - £19 (£15.50 in advance)
Under 5yrs - FREE

National Trust members will enjoy a discount on tickets too, and will get half price tickets. Tesco vouchers are accepted on standard day passes.
Their website is over at www.shugborough.org.uk if you would like some more information.

--Accessibility--

Shugborough is accessible from Milford or Haywood. The Milford entrance is a one way road through a forest though perfectly tarmacked and suitable for any car. This road features speed bumps and leads to the main carpark by the park farm.

The Haywood entrance is a walkway, so you can choose to park in limited parking in Haywood and walk through over the bridge over the river, though parking should never be a problem unless there is a large event on such as the fireworks when it gets horrendously gridlocked, so if you go for the fireworks I would deeply consider going by foot or bike.

We always cycled to Shugborough, being fairly local, and it is accessible along the canal and then there are places to lock your bike.

--Summary--

In conclusion, it is a great day out for the family, with loads to do but is quite pricey. The season tickets are good value if you live in the area and you should definitely give it a visit if you are a National Trust member. There are lovely things to eat and great walks and this working estate caters for all the family!