Tatton Park Mansion and Gardens Review
Tatton Park
Mansion and Gardens
Reviewed by Dotty Winters
I am a massive fan of mooching round a National Trust property pretending I have a bustle. With a neo-classical mansion, a Tudor hall, deer park, a children’s farm, cafes, play parks and beautiful gardens Tatton Park crams everything which the National Trust does best onto one site. For this visit we concentrated on the mansion, the gardens and the (compulsory for my two assistant reviewers) play park. We were lucky to visit on a completely gorgeous day, so we took our time driving through the park land on the way to the main car park, spotting the deer.
Tatton Park is a very large site, and in addition to plenty of deer the parkland boasts huge open spaces, great climbing trees, lakes and woodland. It is perfect for all manner of adventures, bear hunts and child-exhausting, and if the weather is up for it, well worth building time into your visit to explore parts of it. Tatton Park regularly hosts large events, so it’s worth checking in advance to see what is going on (additional charges will apply for some events, and traffic/parking can be busier). The opening times for different parts of the site vary, so again it is worth checking online before you attend. Alternatively, the staff in the information booths are very helpful and can advise on timings, suitability for children and any special events.
The mansion provides a fascinating glimpse into the lifestyles of the Egerton family and their domestic staff. The mansion is well-staffed, so there is always a guide nearby to answer questions (even really longwinded questions about a spider-he-saw-ed from a 3 year old).
The highlight of the trip for the kids were the gardens; a huge tree-lined boulevard just asks to be run down and the layout of the gardens means there are lots of little archways and semi-hidden doorways to explore. As a Tatton veteran, the 6 year old made a beeline for the maze (it can be tricky to find, so it’s worth getting a free map from the garden reception). This time he was convinced he could remember the precise route needed to get from the entrance to the centre without any dead ends. He was dead wrong. Who knew that walking past endless stretches of identical hedging could be so entertaining? After the great deciduous baby-sitter, we took in the African Hut, and the Japanese gardens.
Tatton offers a range of eating options: cafes, a tuck shop, and an assortment of burger/ice-cream vans. There are outdoor seating areas for the cafes and for picnicking, but they were suffering from an invasion of wasps, so despite the weather we decided to eat inside. We opted for cake in the café, and let’s face it, that’s a decision no-one is likely to regret. The size of the cake slabs would have defeated a less dedicated team than ours, but we fully applied ourselves to the task, and then waddled to the play park to bounce off some calories.
Tatton Park remains a family-favourite for us; there always seems to be something new to look at, and no matter how many times we try it, that maze never gets any easier! There are a lot of things to do when you arrive and depending on the age of your children, it may be best not to try to do everything in one day, or if you fancy the full-on experience, pack up a picnic, caffeine-up and cram your day with as much as possible – it’s a great value day out, exhausted kids guaranteed.
Rating: 5/5 
For more information, prices and opening times visit www.tattonpark.org.uk.
Tatton Park, Knutsford, Cheshire, WA16 6QN | 01625 374400
