Attingham Park is a National Trust-owned sprawling 8,000 acres of parkland and woodland with a mansion, walled garden, orchard, deer park, and walking trails in Shropshire. I got to explore Attingham Park for the first time at the start of spring (end of March) this year. The mansion was not open for the season during my visit, but I was able to have a walk around some of the parkland before heading back to London. This is one of the National Trust's most popular homes; it ranks fourth in the number of visitors.
Attingham Park was built toward the end of the 1700s by Lord Berwick, MP for Shropshire, who helped with the reorganisation of the East India Company. In 1947, 650 acres of the estate was given to the National Trust as there was no heir.
Attingham Park is known for its trees, some of which are hundreds of years old. There is a 650-year old oak on the land, and other signage around the estate marks some of the more notable trees. The dead and decaying trees are perfect homes to insects and other creatures. One of the more notable trees is the chestnut pictured above.
There are also the old stables to look into, and this area includes the cafe and shop.
The daffodils are amazing in the spring. There are so many planted around the back of the mansion and additional ones lining the paths along the river. It is an amazing place to enjoy the daffodils as spring begins to emerge and the landsape begins to show signs of waking. I love daffodils. They are my favourite spring flowers.
I took a loop walk around the Pleasure Grounds trail, which is focused around the mansion, walled gardens, and courtyard. This followed the river on one side with views over the parkland. First, I headed off in the direction of the mansion to have a look around.
After that, I headed down to the bridge to have a wander around the river and then walked the circular trail.
There were some beautiful views over the parkland.
The orchard was my next stop. Some of the trees were marked with signage as to the different varieties of apple. Many of the apples were older varieties. There are over 100 different apple trees, walnut, and damson.
There were some working buildings on the signs, and each of these had its own purpose.
The walled garden was the next stop, and it is a large one to explore, but it's all fairly open inside. Not much was out, but I saw some spring flowers.
After the walled garden, I headed back to the car. The yew tree was one of the other old trees, and it dates from the 1770s.
I must return to Attingham Park in the summer months to visit the mansion, and the park is also nice to explore in the autumn and the winter with snowdrops.
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