National Trust - Crook Hall Gardens
National Trust - Crook Hall Gardens things to do, attractions, restaurants, events info and trip planning
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ad The best trip from London to Durham ☀ After spending 3 days in Durham I can safely say that it’s one of the UK’s best kept secrets, great for UK staycations and home to two of the country’s best hotels: @seahamhall, which won gold in the best small hall hotel category, and @hotelindigodurham, which won silver in the best large hotel category at the @VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2022 🤗 For the perfect trip to @thisisdurham make sure to: - Pay a visit to Seaham Hall Hotel for a luxury spa break - Go sea glass hunting along the Durham Heritage Coast - Eat a wholesome lunch @flamingocafeseaham - Discover the Harry Potter shoot locations @durhamcathedral - Hire a rowing boat from Browns Rowing Boats in the city centre - Stay in the city centre at the historic Hotel Indigo - See a show @themagiccornerdurham - Have your own cottage core moment at Crook Hall Gardens by @northeastnt Also big up to @wanderlustruby for being the best UK countryside explorer by my side and I hope you all feel inspired to visit Durham sometime soon! 🧳 #uktravel #ukstaycation #ukstaycations #uktrip #visituk #lovegreatbritain #britishcountryside #englishcountryside #lovedurham #durham #visitengland #northeastengland #escapetheeveryday #durhamheritagecoast #seahamhall #hotelindigodurham #durhamcity #ukdaysout #traveluk #visitengland🇬🇧 #travellinguk #bestplacestovisit #uktraveller #durhamcathedral #exploreuk #uktraveltips 🙌
sandymakessensesandymakessense
5.3K401
Celebrated our 47th wedding anniversary here with an afternoon tea. We arrived a couple of hours early so that we could have a wander around the gardens and a visit in the 13th century manor house, a merger of several periods reflecting the changes through time. We weren't disappointed. We begun in the garden with the maze, a delightful, fun start. What a varied mix of delightful gardens hidden at each turn. (Can be steep in places but several tranquil stopping places with benches or even a swing seat. There are covered gazebos and a small lake). After looking around the hall taking in the different atmospheres each room had to offer (sadly we didn't feel the presence of the ghost) we were shown to the Georgian drawing room where we were served our pre-ordered selection. He chose the ploughman's platter version while I had the traditional. We were served canopes of warm caramelised onion quiche and sticky honey mustard glazed cocktail sausages served with either a selection of beer/ale or Elderflower Fizz for him or Prosecco or the Elderflower Fizz for me with a green leaf salad topped with a well washed freshly cut nasturtium flower head from the gardens. We then had a choice of endless coffee or tea. We didnt have long to wait before our tea arrived with the ploughman's platter consisting of a roll of beef, mini pork pie, 1/2 Scotch egg, crackers, cheese, rustic sliced bread and butter and a pot of chutney. The traditional was a sandwich selection of triangles of brown and white sliced bread containing salmon, cheese + pickle, ham and cucumber. The middle plate was a freshly baked melt in the mouth scone, strawberry preserve and cream (not clotted) in individual glass pots. Top plate had full sized Millionaire Shortbread and full sized chocolate brownie and a selection of 5 mini fresh cream cakes. Again well presented. Our waitress was a young lady named Chloe who was polite and pleasant who brought in a surprise of a slate which had been piped with "congratulations on your 47th wedding anniversary" and adorned with two pieces of flapjack. A lovely touch.
Brenda SummersBrenda Summers
00
Lovely, but not perfect. Crook Hall Gardens is a delightful little place in the heart of Durham. As picturesque as Durham can be it's nice that you can escape the city to this little Alice of countryside. The grounds, while small have lots of little hidden corners and paths that make exploring a delight. It's still early in the process of being under the management of the National Trust and you can tell. It's in need of a little tlc in places, after neglect as a wedding venue, the gardens are not as spectacular as other National Trust sites I have visited recently. While there we was also visited the onsite cafe. We ordered a flat white, 7up, a chocolate brownie and a fruit scone. The fruit scone and brownie were lovely, full of flavour and perfectly baked. The only downside was the service from the staff. The venue wasn't particularly busy, but the staff member serving me seemed as though they couldn't be bothered. This is very unusual for a National Trust cafe, I have always had fantastic interaction with staff, so this was highly disappointing. I am hopeful that it will improve in the future, at which point I look forward to giving it 5 stars. A note on accessibility. The terrain would make it difficult for anyone in a wheelchair to enjoy the premises. The paths are small and a mixture of gravel, grass and stepping stones. An accessible ramp can be used to get up into the garden premises.
Owen WOwen W
10
I loved Crook Hall when Maggie and Keith had it, exploring the house as well as the gardens, and enjoying a relax in the lounge, with the fire blazing and reading the letters to the White Lady ghost. Obviously, I was gutted when it closed, but was super excited to see the National Trust had taken it on. Visited today and was a little disappointed that they still charged £8 entry, but you can no longer look around the house, apart from the medieval hall and there are no plans to restore the house to be more representative of it's era, and open to the public, but instead turn it into a holiday let. Such a shame that a once public place will be limited. Though I know the National Trust does lots of great work I still felt £8 was a little too steep an entry fee, versus what you now get at Crook Hall. I think £6 would have been more fair, but that's just my opinion and I was informed the money goes towards an ongoing green corridor project, which sounds a good project. Must have caught the cafe on a low stock day, due to the coronation, as cake selection was unappealing, compared to before. Cookies, brownies and flapjack. No nice sliced big cakes. 😕 Ended up going elsewhere for cake and coffee. The lady working the reception was really friendly and informative though, as I'd expect of a National Trust place. The gardens were lovely and colourful, as I'd expected.
Karen TindaleKaren Tindale
20
13th of July 2022. The day when National Trust opened the Garden for public and Durham appeared on National Trust map! This medieval building added another reason to visit Durham. At the moment the house itself is still closed but you can visit the medieval hall. Not much but still a quite interesting building. To me the garden is a real pearl! There is a couple of sections of this lovely garden. We have orchard full of apple trees, pond surrounded by trees, water plants and beautiful views of meadows and fields. Section with vegetables, berries and edibles is really well kept and impressive! Fantastic features everywhere not omitting this part of the garden. Small and bigger ornaments and statues are keeping you in "look for" mode. Great abundance of plants everywhere so no room for any single weed! Lovely planned paths with all shapes of benches here and there gives additional reason to stroll and soak in atmosphere and calmness of the place. The cathedral view is not something extraordinary but still nice as the best place for it is designed as kind of rock plants carpet. I love it! Coffee and cake available in the spotless café and fantastic staff members ready to help is a cherry on top!
A AA A
40
Genuinely one of the best National Trust sites we visited. It may be slightly smaller than other NT sites, but it is a very impressive place to visit. The site is kind of divided into different gardens, and each one is as good as the other. There isn't much to see or have public access to the house itself, but the gardens are fantastic. There is good on site parking albeit quite small, however there is ample on road parking nearby. The gardens themselves are beautifully presented, and are immaculately clean. The staff are very informative and friendly, and there is a great café on site and an ice cream kiosk. The maze is quite cool and is exciting for the little ones. There are plenty of places plus a dedicated area with picnic benches to relax, have a rest and enjoy food you may have brought yourself. Would definitely return again
Shaun PalmerShaun Palmer
00
Nearby Attractions Of National Trust - Crook Hall Gardens
Durham Cathedral
Prince Bishops Place
The Riverwalk
Durham Castle
Wharton Park
OYO The Townhouse
Escape Rooms Durham
Elvet Bridge
Durham Town Hall
The Keep Barbershop Durham
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Nearby Restaurants Of National Trust - Crook Hall Gardens
Turtle Bay Durham
The Bishops' Mill
Fat Hippo Durham
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The Bishops' Mill
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Fat Hippo Durham
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Inshanghai
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Learn more insights from Wanderboat AIBasic Info
Address
Frankland Ln, Sidegate, Durham DH1 5SZ, United Kingdom
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Phone
+44 191 383 1832
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Website
nationaltrust.org.uk
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Reviews
Overview
4.6
(679 reviews)
Ratings & Description
cultural
outdoor
scenic
relaxation
family-friendly
accessibility
attractions: Durham Cathedral, Prince Bishops Place, The Riverwalk, Durham Castle, Wharton Park, OYO The Townhouse, Escape Rooms Durham, Elvet Bridge, Durham Town Hall, The Keep Barbershop Durham, restaurants: Turtle Bay Durham, The Bishops' Mill, Fat Hippo Durham, Inshanghai, The Head of Steam Durham, The Boat Club & Tomahawk Steakhouse, The Water House, Slug & Lettuce - Durham, Akarsu Turkish Restaurant & Grill, The Three Bridges
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