Dunham Massey – National Trust

We came to visit quite late on Easter Sunday and caught the tail end of the Easter egg hunt, which looked to be tremendous amounts of fun. I was a little miffed that only kids were eligible for the chocolate prize otherwise I would have definitely taken part. We were too late to visit the actual house but our walk around the garden was very serene. The gardens are well looked after with a great selection of trees, plants and
animals to admire. The hen house was a personal favourite.
We were also lucky enough to see a herd of deer grazing in the grounds which seemed a little surreal as we were so close to them.
If you’re not a national trust member (for whom the cost of the house, gardens and parking are included in your annual fee) then it is a little pricey with the car parking at £6 (cash only) and house and garden at £12.50 but I’d say well worth the money.
We visited the gift shop and it had your usual fare of trinkets and confectionary which would be well suited in most grandparents homes.

One of the 1^st sunny days of the year and a great day for a walk in the park. And when there are wild deers wandering around, a brilliant historic house and two cracking cafes what more can you ask for?
Bacon or Sausage butties in the morning with a great coffee, or later it’s a roast meet butty. And scones with cream all day.
Great for anyone including families with great modern facilities and if you want it some good history.
It’s £6 to park then extra for the house or floral gardens but you don’t need to go in those to have a good walk with the deer and a coffee break!

Decent park, was good and nice, clean area, i do recommend going. But the café wasn’t as good. We got there 20 minutes before closing time, and was turned down the opportunity to actually go and spend our money on them, because they told us that they were too busy/​will not be enough time. if the hours and the sign itself says they are open until a certain time then they should serve you until then, plus only having 1 bathroom cubicle for a huge number of customers indoors. Nothing wrong with the food served or stuff they sell, just think that it was a little rude for them to turn us around with a fair amount of tables free.

Perfect for a morning walk and if you fancy deer spotting. There are lakes, farms and greenery galore. You can park and get into the gardens for free if you’re a National Trust member. There are also a couple of coffee shops and cafés for refreshments. Great when you need to escape the city. Love it here!

I had no idea that there was such a huge, beautiful deer park only 20 minutes from my house on the outskirts of Altrincham. When a weekend’s forecast said sunshine, I arranged to visit there with some friends for a picnic and a wander.
The cost to park here for the day is a standard £6 for cars (cash only). If you wanted to visit the properties on site, that costs extra. Numerous wooden picnic benches can be found dotted about amongst the trees near the car park, so you can have lunch before you enter the park via the visitors centre.
You first walk past the listed Dunham Massey stables and carriage hall which are surrounded by a moat occupied by ducks and geese and then into the grounds of the Georgian hall.
Dunham Massey Hall, built in the 17^th century and later remodelled and altered, was used as a military hospital during the First World War. Its interior has been transformed to how it would have looked back then and will remain until November 2015.
The expansive deer park (over 190 acres) is the only medieval park in Trafford or the surrounding area that still survives to this day. You’ll be wandering down one of the paths and come across fallow deer grazing away, minding their own business.
A gorgeous place to amble away a few hours on a lovely day.

This is a wonderful old stately pile, fully furnished and a snapshot of how generations of undoubtedly posh people actually lived. Our guide told us that the occupants never threw anything else and this place is crammed with chattels from huge chandeliers and four poster beds to hundreds of pieces of silver from candlesticks to goblets. I mean it would just be a lifetimes work polishing the silver. Then there’s the impressive library with books bound and unbound and many are hundreds of years old. The floors are wooden, the ceilings high, the rooms plentiful and bountiful and the place Labyrinthian. The kitchens are fascinating, not just the ancient equipment, the old pots, and pans, the butchery, the vegetable room, milk parlour, but how they were organised. This place also has a first class restaurant/​café high end priced and pretty darn good it is too. Well worth a full day out and I haven’t even mentioned the great outdoors around the extensive grounds nor the roaming deer. Don’t miss this place if you are anywhere nearby.

I may not look like the traditional ‘outdoorsman’ but it may shock you to hear I’m quite the fan of National Trust sites and in particular wildlife spotting! And at Dunham Massey there’s nowhere quite like it to spot deer, squirrels and pheasants amongst some of the finest woodland the UK has to offer.
As is standard at NT sites, it’s £5 to park and around £10 entrance to the house, plus there’s an excellent restaurant onsite serving homemade food between 12 and 2.30pm (we had the pork and vegetable casserole and mushroom pie and both were of excellent quality, out of a choice of around 6 dishes), with snacks such as teacakes and scones served with tea and coffee in the morning and afternoon. Lunch came to £22 with a couple of soft drinks.
As is usual with National Trust sites, it’s an extremely popular day out for older people, parents with pushchairs and young couples enjoying a romantic day out — saying that, there is plenty of room in the park to find your own piece of paradise so don’t worry about it being too claustrophobic!

We wanted a walk in the area where we could take our dog and son on his bike. Dunham Massey was perfect.
The weather was miserable the day we went but it didn’t spoil the magnificent architecture of Dunham Massey, nor the views of the surrounding countryside.
The park was perfect for my 2 year old to get used to his new bike too — lots of wide paths so that other visitors were able to avoid being run over. With this in mind, it would be perfect for wheelchair users too.
My only constructive criticism would be that some dog hooks close to the toilets and café area would be useful — although this may be an intentional oversight on their part to prevent the inevitable barking that starts when pet dogs get lonely!

«Dunham» is gorgeous, beauty personified. It’s places like these that make you appreciate the UK, regardless of the unreliable weather. It’s perfect. So much so I’ve declared I’m retiring in Cheshire, fact.
I’m a big fan of Cheshire in general, home to many pieces of greenery similar in purpose. I’m quite sad I do not possess a car any more, although there are good public transport services that get me to Dunham which are a jolly old ride.
I’ve had indulging picnics, lay endlessly making animals and faces out of the clouds. I’ve perused the gardens, gone for lengthy walks, always ending up discovering something new. It’s times like these I really really appreciate The National Trust. With a National Trust card you can get in for free other wise it’s £6.50 for an adult, £3.35 for a child for entrance to the garden and £9 and £4.50 for the house and garden combo. There’s also a special family rate too. I’m yet to explore the house that lies in this estate but you apparently they tell the stories about the Georgian scandal about the Earls and their domestics. Coronation St eat your heart out.
What I adore are the deer and the ducks and swans. There’s something so serene about watching the wildlife here, they look so carefree, the feeling I somehow achieve along with them. Warning, bring a picnic blanket to lay on, this is their home!
Amongst the ancient trees and Britain’s largest winter garden also lies a restaurant, souvenir shop, and the sale of ice-​cream which wins me over every time. Children, dogs, parents, teenagers, Dunham is enjoyed by all. Just venture that bit out from the Cosmopolitan of Manchester and you can find one of Britain’s beauty’s. The opening hours are seasonal and vary with each attraction. The ones listed are for the current to the 31^st October for the gardens, my favourite part.

Cannot agree more with all the comments below. I have been a Member of the National Trust for a very long time, and live locally, so this is a nice trip out on a lovely sunny day. Have to say though, how did I miss the Farm Shop?
Tearoom a favourite haunt, and plenty of walks but my favourite is the garden in early Summer. One year it was so hot you could have mistaken that you were abroad and what a fantastic photo opportunity.
Historically speaking it was the home of the Greys, family of the fated Tudor Queen. Near the dining room you will see the genealogy that sparked the tragedy. There is a lovely inner courtyard with fountain, great place to stay cool and just a lovely old house and deer park

A great place for a day out. We took our kids (then aged 4 and 2) last summer, and whilst we didn’t go into the house itself they still had a good time walking round the grounds deer-​spotting. They enjoyed the ride from the car park up to the house (there’s a free shuttle between the too) as well. As ever with National Trust properties, it was well sign-​posted and the staff were very helpful. I’m not sure I would have wanted to be there on a wet or cold day with young kids, but all in all there was quite a bit of exploring to do and it was certainly a very pleasant place to be.

An astonishingly fine National Trust property, set within 3,200 acres of land, containing a deer park first established in 1362. This is a great day out, whether you choose to mooch around the hall itself — and why wouldn’t you? It’s an elaborate warren of fine furniture, paintings and atmospheric rooms — or just wander around the expansive grounds themselves, you’ll find yourself with no shortage of choices regardless of the weather. Best things to see, are the formal gardens to the side of the hall, and the old medieval watermill at the end of Langham Grove. The outbuildings are well preserved, and house one of the National Trust’s best café/​restaurants, with a well-​stocked shop on the ground floor selling, amongst other things, the local beer. Open from 8 March — to 2 Nov (house and grounds), the restaurant and shop have extended opening from November to January. Admission to the house is: £8.50 (adult) and £4.25 (child); and the grounds alone £6 & £3. As ever, consider getting a 12 month National Trust membership — you’ll not only recoup your entrance costs for this visit, but you’ll also have free admission to all their properties (and get your parking free) for the next twelve months.

Huge parklands, walks, loads of intresting things, house, gardens etc. really nice, relaxed, fantastic in the summer as there is loads of grass! Deer in the parklands! You can chose your ticket so you can just go to the gardens or include the house. If you have a membership and live nearby its a great place to pop in regularly as there’s just so much to do and see and even if you dont do all thats on offer you can just have a nice walk.