Hardwick Hall Visitor Centre — Attraction in Bolsover

We visit a lot of heritage sites, but this place instantly became our favourite! The site as a whole can be described in one word: incredible. The 'new' hall is amazing, packed with historic architecture, furniture, paintings and curios of all kinds. We've never seen features quite like some of those we saw here, such as the 3D plaster friezes, the 'gaming table' and the enormous fireplaces. And there are so many tapestries! One thing stands out clearly throughout - Bess of Hardwick stamped her character on everything she owned. We knew she was a strong, intelligent, determined woman, but this property proves it beyond all doubt! And in a time where women were treated as weak, second-class citizens with few rights (if any), what she achieved is absolutely astonishing. The old hall is worth a visit, too, especially now that some of the plaster friezes have been restored and you can head to the upper floors. It's a ruin, mostly open to the elements, but still creates a real impression of wealth and status. But this wasn't good enough for Bess, and she built the new house to reflect her status. The visitor's centre itself is quite small, but there's a very good NT gift shop and 2nd hand book shop in the grounds. There's also a cafe and food/drink trailer within a large grassed area with picnic tables. Toilet facilities can be found behind the gift shop. The grounds are laid out beautifully with lots of lovely flowers (when in season) and interesting mature trees. The staff we spoke to were all welcoming, friendly and enthusiastic. If you live halfway between Hampton Court Palace and Hardwick, I recommend that you head north to the latter - it's a lot less hassle to get to, the staff are infinitely more helpful and friendly, and it's a fantastic place to...

We went to the Christmas Wintertide on a very icy, wet and windy day. We were greeted by a lovely lady in the visitor center and spoke to a friendly man in the shop before going on to the hall. I had checked the facilities in advance and knew I couldn't take the pushchair into the hall, they are to be left outside. Considering the weather, I carried the baby in a sling up the icy, somewhat slippery paths. When we got to the hall, I was told I couldn't wear the baby changing bag on my back but would have to carry it in my hands. It was heavy so the person I was with wasn't able to carry it, I asked if I could leave it at the entrance but was told no, because there was nowhere secure, in a tone which told me not to bother asking any more questions (which in itself was disappointing). I therefore struggled around the house, with a heavy change bag in my hand, which made the stairs treacherous for me, especially with a baby strapped to my front. Having nowhere secure to store a bag of nappies and baby clothes is a ridiculous justification for making someone struggle like that, and to put them at risk of slipping on the stairs. Had I brought the pushchair, I could have left the bag outside with it, so to refuse to let me leave the bag inside on the grounds of having nowhere safe to store it is a joke. It spoiled our visit as we weren't able to take the time to enjoy the house due to the physical limitations placed upon me. Had I known in advance, I would have left the bag in the car, but it was too far to walk back with the baby and the bag, especially in such...

What a wonderful place, I would highly recommend this if you love your English history with the royals more so the tudor royals. Its history is fascinating and the walks are very pleasant without being too much, the walks are split in to difficulty levels, specific sight seeing walks and length. My partner has never seen one quite like this before and the hand plated star flooring is unique and amazing.

I have only given this 4 stars for two reasons, 1 as we are of the younger nation trust members (24) the staff can be less then helpful and seemed to look down on us and when questions where asked they looked to answer others in detail and give us the cold shoulder which isn't very friendly but not the first place this has happened with. 2nd I highly recommend going either summer or autumn for the splendid colours and plants although we came during snow drop season which was pretty I would recommend the other two seasons as it will be less harsh weather for the walks around...