Nostell Priory…part 2 (National Trust)
Location - Nostell Priory, Doncaster Road, Nostell near Wakefield, West Yorkshire, WF4 1QE
Distance (around) - varying depending on track
Terrain - There are a number of possible routes and the ground varies from firm concrete to wood bark, there are a number of inclines, but you don’t need to take all of these.
Points to note -
Parking including disabled (closer to venue) is available
Toilets including accessible available
This is a National Trust location check prices before entry
Café with lovely courtyard and dog friendly at the rear
Lots of fields for dogs to run, but keep in mind wildlife
Be careful of cows in some fields
The next sections of Nostell Priory are not dog friendly, however, on the whole they are accessible. We’ll start with the gardens; going through the entrance just by the shop and walking to the left there are the beautiful rose gardens, settled just in-front of the Orangery, then walking along these you meet a path taking you to the vegetable patches, these are obviously seasonal and as such a varying array of fruit and vegetables, on my visit there were some mighty pumpkins and other squash, along with cabbages, onions tomatoes and much more, intermingled is on orchard growing a wide variety of apples. I know from visiting the cafe they use the produce in the cakes and food served in there, including a lovely rhubarb scone with jam and, in my opinion, the best ever curried vegetable pasty in existence!
Once you have perused the vegetable gardens you can walk the other paths, including a woodland play area for kids, along the bridge across one of the several lakes towards the secret garden, which houses a quaint archway and an old menagerie. You also have the opportunity to walk along more of the woodland, however this ground is often uneven underfoot and would need some serious consideration when traversing.
After you have completed your visit of the gardens you can enter the house, on writing this the entry fee of one allowed access to the other too, there are some storage lockers to place any larger belongings, including some which are low down for easier access. Upon entering the house you can view the magnificent long case clocks, one of the first of its kind made famous by John Harrison. Further through the rooms there is a recently refurbished dolls house, showing the intricate nature of the house in doll house form, definitely worth a look. The house also boasts some features such as calling bells, beautiful staircase, ornate rooms throughout and a world class Chippendale collection. The house is carpeted or wood floorboards through and easy to access, there is even a lift which has been installed to allow access to the upper floors, the lift does take a little manoeuvring but my scooter was able to fit. Depending on your time of visiting they decorate for Christmas and even have a visit from Father Christmas himself.
All in all Nostell Priory is accessible and on many parts dog friendly, I highly recommend a visit and depending on your circumstances it can be a whole day trip with the walks, house and gardens.
Tip - there is an enclosed dog run area near the car park.
