This was my second visit to the National Trust property known as Gunby Hall and Estate; my first visit had been during the lockdown, and I could only visit the gardens on the first visit. Gunby Estate has Gunby Hall, gardens, and countryside walks. The hall was built in 1700 for the Massingberd family, and there is an attractive Victorian walled garden with dovecote. I found this to be a beautiful property with well-kept gardens and several resident cats, although I did not see any cats on this visit. I visited at the end of last month.
This was my first visit of the morning, and I first went to explore the house before crowds of people.
We were told some of the history of the house upon entry as the entry were timed slots. After the basic history, we could explore the rooms on our own with other guides being available to give us more information when required. We were told that the house narrowly missed being demolished in World War II because they wanted to build an airfield nearby, and the house was in the way of the flight path. Because they could not tear down a house donated to the National Trust, they decided to donate it to the National Trust. This has saved the estate and hall.
The rooms are modest in size and do have a nice feeling.
After visiting the house, I went to explore the gardens. The dovecote reminds me of Eastcote House Gardens as the positioning inside a walled garden is the same.
I loved wandering around the colourful blooms.
The late July and early August flowers were in bloom. I would love to see the gardens at a different time of the year.
My previous visit to Gunby in the summer (at the same time of the year) can be seen here: http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2020/09/gunby-estate-lockdown-edition.html
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