Trentham Gardens
Join us on a beautiful September day to explore part of what Trentham Gardens has to offer.
The Trentham Estate is a 725 acre estate that used to be the home of the Dukes of Sutherland. Nowadays it consists of a unique outdoor shopping village, award-winning gardens and, to the south, a Monkey Forest where the monkeys roam freely. There are also a number of events that take place throughout the year in the gardens.
While entrance to the shopping village is free, entry to the Gardens and the Monkey Forest is a separate charge for both. We decided to buy annual passes for Trentham Gardens as we live close enough to be able to make use of them. We purchased an accessible membership ticket for John, which includes free entry for an essential carer, and a student membership ticket for George, as that was a slightly cheaper option than the accessible membership ticket.
Trentham Gardens is well known for its Fairy Trail and a fairy is one of the first things you see when you walk across the bridge over the River Trent, when you use the main entrance to the Gardens.
Some of the Trentham Fairies.
The Gardens are dog friendly, apart from the dedicated children's play areas, although they (the dogs, not the children!) do need to be kept on a lead. We took our dog Jasper with us and he loved it! The paths around Trentham Gardens are mostly wheelchair accessible, and the ones that are not are clearly labeled as such, so you're not going to get part way along a path and find yourself stuck.
From the top left there's one of the main paths through the Italian Garden; a picture of part of the Italian Garden, with one of the fountains; Jasper looking at the water in the pond, where the fountain in the previous picture is located; one of the signs warning that a particular path is not wheelchair accessible; a tree that struck me as unusual because of the way the trunk is split three ways, near to the bottom.
There's also a small area, which must have been kind of like a pet cemetery for the animals of the families that lived there many years ago. A lot of the engravings on the stones have worn away now, but I like the way that they've been left there as a reminder that this was once part of someone's home.
I love the way that all the birds just wander freely around the gardens. They did move away slightly when they saw Jasper, but he wasn't interested in them at all. I got a small amount of video footage showing one of the birds walking across the grass in front of us.
Just going for a walk!
There's a statue of Perseus and Medusa in front of the large lake, near to the Italian Garden, with Perseus holding the head of Medusa in his hand. The large lake is also home to an array of wildlife. The lake is a mile long and was originally designed by Capability Brown, and has a circular path around it. You can also discover the lake onboard the Miss Elizabeth, an all electric catamaran, which gives a guided Wildlife Discovery Cruise and is also fully wheelchair accessible. There is also a miniature railway that runs alongside the lake, which has a sit astride train that runs for about a mile through woodland on the western shore of the lake. If you look towards the far end of the lake, towards the end closest to the Monkey Forest, you can see a statue of the first Duke of Sutherland in the distance.
From the top left: A view of the lake from the Italian Garden's side; the statue of Perseus and Medusa; a family of ducks on the lake; a distant view of the Miss Elizabeth; two swans enjoying the peacefulness of the lake; the statue of the first Duke of Sutherland in the distance.
We loved the how peaceful it was at Trentham Gardens and how beautiful the area is. I had to capture a short video of one of the fountains, as I love the sound of moving water, whether it's water lapping on a shore or from a fountain - I find it very relaxing.
One of the fountains.
We had a lovely day (and a delicious hot chocolate, perfect for an autumnal day!) but we didn't get to see anywhere near all the things that the Gardens have to offer. They also have different events going on throughout the year, so there really is something for everyone. I'm glad that we bought annual passes, so that we can go back and explore the bits that we missed, including the Sensory Garden!
