Hatfield House Review
Reviewed by Tricia Shaw
Hatfield House (situated close to junction 4 of the A1M) has something to offer all the family: the house and gardens, the stable yard shops, the park, the farm and the playground. With plenty of easy free parking you can choose whether to head first to the farm and playground (aka Bloody Hollow) or to make your way past the old palace to the stable yard shops. We enjoyed browsing the gift and toy shop where there is a wide range of items for sale. Also in the stable yard is the ticket office where you can pick up information leaflets and purchase your tickets for whichever areas of the estate you wish to visit. The opening times vary so be sure to check the website carefully to make sure what you want to see will be open for your visit.
The house is just a short walk from the stable yard with an impressive modern fountain sculpture. On entering the house remember to get your ticket stamped so that you can return to the park and gardens free of charge for the rest of the season (until the end of September). At the entrance there are children’s quizzes available which were keeping some of the younger visitors busy. There is also an adult audio guide available, but we didn’t use it. The house is quite simply beautiful; the wooden panelling, the exquisitely carved staircase, the intricate ceilings and the extensive collections of paintings and other historical artefacts were wonderful to see. In each room there was a member of staff ready and waiting to impart their knowledge to interested visitors. We were lucky enough to speak to Dermot Burke firstly in the King James Drawing Room and then again in the Long Gallery. He was excellent with my son answering all his questions, feeding his curiosity and showing us the cradle used by Queen Anne’s children as well as the marks left by the hidden doors – see if you can spot where the doors are! The tour of the house ends downstairs in the kitchen where you can see the Victorian lead-lined fridge and various kitchen appliances including an original Jacobean pestle and mortar. All of the items are in amazingly good condition and it was lovely yet again to see the children engrossed in the history of this wonderful place as they talked with a guide called Ann.
On leaving the house you can head straight to the West Garden which has some beautiful formal gardens with plenty of benches nestled in various hedges from which you can enjoy the variety of plants and flowers, the tranquillity of the fountain or the view of the house. We very much liked the sundial garden and the old palace garden. Unfortunately, the East Garden is only open on Wednesdays so we weren’t able to visit it this time. If you like walking you can wander around the woodland garden with its beech and oak trees or if you want to go further there are three circular walks of varying lengths around the park. Make sure you pick up a leaflet at the ticket office which details all the things there are to see along the walks.
The old palace was being used for a wedding whilst we were visiting so we weren’t able to see inside but hope to revisit another time. Instead we went back to the stable yard in search of refreshments. Unfortunately, the coffee shop was not open but the River Cottage deli was. The items in the deli were very expensive and I was shocked to find it cost £19 for 2 teas, 2 cakes and 2 ice creams. I was glad that we had opted to bring a picnic for lunch. It was fairly busy so we opted to buy items to take away and head to the playground. It took a while for us to find the entrance to the playground (by the entrance to the farm) and we do feel that the signage could be better.
The playground has a replica of the house to climb up and around and plenty of play equipment for children. There are a few picnic benches where the parents can sit and watch. Make sure you keep your ticket safe as you will be asked to show it to gain entrance to the playground.
Hatfield House and gardens is a great day out.
Rating: 4/5
Tickets cost from £9 to £19 per person.
For more information or to book tickets visit www.hatfield-house.co.uk.
