Wimpole Hall

A National Trust estate about a 50 minute car ride from London.
Plenty of parking and a free tractor ride from the main entrance to the farm. You could probably walk it in the same time the tractor takes but what is the fun in that!!?
The farm is well organised and has a board with all the goings on with pretty accurate times to help you plan where to be to be able to catch the best bits. The pigs are a good place to start, if just for the squeeeeels of excitement when they get a hint of the impending feed.
The highlight for me was the large walled garden and orchard. I do gaze upon these kinds of things with a lot of envy, just dreaming up what I would do with it if it were mine… one day. There is also an ornamental ‘Dutch Garden’ which is pretty much a pattern of low box hedges… not my thing but quite impressive from a gardening perspective.
The shops are also quite nice, and there is a surprisingly large selection of plants for sale. Quick tip, go in the off season, lots of plants get reduced to half price!
Oh, almost forgot, the onsite restaurant has plenty of seating space and does a good selection of home grown and home cooked food, and the cakes are not to be sniffed at either.

Car parking used to be free, now £2 unless you are an NT member. Used to take the dogs for long walks around the extensive grounds, particularly liked to woks in the woods. Today we just visited the gift shop and café with my Mother-​in-​law who can’t walk far. Gift shop in the stable yard I’d say is standard fare, but expensive. There is a section selling produce from the farm including meat.
The café I think has been re-​done recently. Found the service a bit chaotic but the home made sausage roll was excellent (if expensive).
Fills up rapidly after lunch (on Sunday), top tip, get there before noon.

Wimpole Hall is well worth a family visit.
Inside the hall, the rooms are beautiful and presented in an engaging and interesting way. The volunteer staff are friendly and knowledegable, and the library, dining room and the bath (you’ll understand if you vist!) have real wow factors.
The highlight for my kids (7 and 3) was below stairs, and it was really interesting to see how the house functioned. Some real thought has gone into providing some meanginful hands on kids activities, and the lavender bag making, knitting, napkin folding and quill pen writing went down a treat. Worth checking if these activities are all year round or just limited to holidays.
Although I didn’t go further than the gardens outside the house and on the way to the farm, these are well manicured and evocative of garden parties in times past.
The farm is pretty much as you’d expect, and no big surprises. Two things do stand out though. The bale maze is fantastic fun and great for burning off any remaining energy (adults and kids alike), and the shire horse carriage ride was most certanly the highlight for my little lad (just edging out the pedal tractors by a nose).

There’s nothing better than an afternoon strolling around a beautiful National Trust garden, especially if followed by a delicious coffee break. Wimpole Hall offers the perfect combination of olde worldy charm and modern ameneties. I was particularly impressed by their gift/​farm shop and can’t wait to visit again.

For anyone who does not know, Wimpole is a National Trust-​owned 2,500-acre estate with a hall, gardens, farm, stables, shops and cafes — oh, and its own parish church.
The hall and farm are okay, but the estate is a great place to take kids of all ages, there is a tarmac path for cycling on and plenty of space to walk around the estate off-​road.
Unusually for this part of the world, the estate is actually quite hilly and wooded (relatively speaking) which makes it a good trek for little ones.
A favourite visit involves parking (for free !) in Arrington, then taking the little ones on the scenic route to the café for tea and scones followed by an easy stroll back along the path.

I love wimpole hall, have been several times as a child as i live close by, have also been recently and when they have had lambing season where all the baby lambs are born and watched by all the children who visit, and parents too! I love the house itself, its set back into the countryside and i see it on my journey into cambridge and it stands out against the trees. The farm is such a lovely place too, great place for children to visit, k cant wait to bring my neice here next year!

This hall looks extremely grand and is a wonder to behold I have been round the house several times and the round room is just amazing! The grounds host Wimpole Home Farm too, where they rear rare breeds of cattle, sheep and pigs. There are special feeding times and events that the children can get involved in to. There is a working walled kitchen garden too and you may purchase some of the produce grown here. They also use there own meat for the restaurant. The home made soups are out of this world and the home made bread which accompanies it. They also have a traditional toy shop and secondhand book stall in the stable yard. There is a folly in the grounds too and I remember walking there on a very snowy day and making angels in the snow on the walk back from it!!! A lovely day out. For all the family.