Where the locals go (Wollaton Hall (Nottingham))

Member Name: jessyclown

Product:	Wollaton Hall (Nottingham)
Date:	03/10/01 (159 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: extensive grounds, plenty to do, cheap

Disadvantages: ******

If you ever find yourself looking for somewhere to go in the Nottingham area to fill a few hours you could do a lot worse than to visit Wollaton Hall. The City of Nottingham owns the hall and grounds and it is open for all to see.

The hall is set in extensive grounds with a lake, golf course and plenty of grassland. There is a children’s play area and in the summer evenings you can watch hot air balloons taking off. At the back of the hall are some formal gardens, which are pleasant to walk around and are a nice place for a picnic.

Wandering around the grounds you can encounter deer, which roam freely though they tend to stay clear of people, they have some sense. There are some rare cattle, which again stay away from people. The bird life found in the wooded area is worth a visit by any bird watchers around.

The places to visit within the grounds include the hall, the art gallery and the industrial museum.

The industrial museum is located in the stable block and is well worth visiting, you can see a working steam pump it runs on certain days and it is well worth going to see it in action. There are the old lace looms from some of Nottingham’s famous lace making factories. A favourite with the children is the vintage cycles, cars and carriages.

The art gallery usually has an exhibition, you never can tell whether they are worth looking at until you have had a look around!

Standing on the high point in the grounds is the hall is the most obvious feature in the grounds. It can be seen from miles away as approaching Nottingham. The hall was built in 1588 for Sir Francis Willoughby. In the centuries it has been around many people lived in it and like most old buildings it even has a Ghost. In 1925 it was bought by the city. Now nobody lives in the hall it is instead full of stuffed animals, as it is now a natural history museum. During school holidays you will find lots of local families vis
iting the hall. There are many stuffed animals to see from Tall Giraffes to tiny birds. You can watch bees at work in their see through hive and ants marching around in their home. The museum is worth dipping into, it is not just stuffed animals it covers all areas of natural history.

There is plenty of parking available in the grounds in a pay and display car park. If you are visiting the hall and museums at the weekends and bank holidays there is a small charge, I believe it is about £2 for adults and £1 for children. If you visit them on weekdays then there is no charge! This is a place that locals visit regularly as it is a large well-maintained park.

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