National Trust - Montacute House — Attraction in Montacute

This is a National Trust property; free entry if you are members, free parking for everyone.

Originally a home for a wealthy and powerful Elizabethan lawyer, it was rebuilt a few times. There are many original features and a great deal of old furniture still on view, as well as portrait paintings from that period and the years since.

There are also a number of ancient tapestries; and at the time I visited, a display of samplers demonstrating needlecraft.

Due to the age of many items, there's a great deal of conservation work underway. Quite painstaking, and it does mean that parts of the property might be off limits at various times.

The associated grounds are very extensive, with a number of very attractive walks available, offering a large number of stunning views. Some of these are suitable for ordinary shoes, but I'd suggest that you consider using more appropriate footwear if you intend going off the established footpaths.

They also appear to be happy for people to walk their dogs around the grounds, as long as they stay out of the garden and floral sections.

The site has some facilities for less able visitors; but it has to be highlighted that it is an old structure with stairs and limited access for wheelchairs or mobility scooters. However, the staff will help where they can.

There is a cafe with an excellent range of food and drink; be aware that some food items may not be on offer all of the time due to volunteer staff availability. Most seating is outside, but they do have some indoor space as well if the weather is inclement.

In addition, there is a shop with a wide range of goodies to remind you of your visit, and support the work of the National Trust.

Well worth a trip to take advantage of an NT membership; and if you don't have one, you can buy at the...

We arrived nice and early before Montacute opened and as we made our way to the entrance, we were greeted warmly by two lovely ladies (didn't catch their names). We were asked if we wanted to see inside the house, to which we replied we would very much, then we were told it didn't open until 11 am but we could view the gardens until then.

We were surprised to see that they are still using "timed-entrance" to the property, with all Covid restrictions lifted, and we declined the offer, as an hour of walking around the gardens in the cold would be too much to bear.

We had a stroll through the gardens, stopping regularly to admire the views and take some photos/videos. It's quite accessible if you are disabled with ramps and flat gravel pathways throughout, you just may not make it down the steps to admire the fountain and pond with the large fish in it.

We visited the shop to stock up on my favourite chocolate shortbreads and had a good chat with a customer service chap there who asked about my walking stick, I gave him a demo and he said it was just the thing he had been looking at on Amazon, and thanked me for giving him a demo.

Making our way back to the entrance, we enquired about the house again, only to find the "timed entrance" had moved on and we would need to wait even longer to get in, so we declined and left.

Currently, it seems only the ground floor is open anyway with the 1st and 2nd...

Another wonderful place owned and cared for by the National Trust. An Elizabethan mansion, originally built for a royal advisor and politician, this building is steeped in history. Beautifully built in golden sandstone, with a variety of rooms (Great Hall, Library, bedrooms, 52m exercise Hall et al) it was a stunning location to visit. We arrived to a wonderful, warm, sweet aroma coming from the café, and started our tour with a hot chocolate. Prices were reasonable, and although we declined cake it was there in abundance, but never established whether it was made on the premises. It certainly smelled so! We walked around the grounds, and my two teenage sons (who moan about anything family orientated) both said they loved it. The Coy carp in the pond were large, the oldest tapestry in the National Trust is hung here, portraits too numerous to mention adorn the walls, and the volunteers are extremely knowledgeable. The woman who admitted us was friendly, informative and great fun, and it set the visit just so for us. This was enhanced by knowing that our £10.50 monthly payment (£126 per year for a family of 5) enabling us to get into as many properties as we like, was a quarter of the price to simply visit this place alone! You can join at the property. And you can be content knowing National Trust properties are being preserved for...