Gibside, Newcastle Upon Tyne

A combination of photographs from 15/2/11 & 19/3/11

Over the past couple of months I have been to Gibside Hall and Pleasure Ground twice, once on a really drizzly day and the other when the sun was shining - this explains why the photos differ weatherwise.

Gibside chapel

Gibside estate is a national trust owned property that is home to the remains of 18th century Gibside Hall, chapel, farm and nature reserve.

The chapel and the monument are at either ends of a walk way that is flanked by ancient oak trees.

Its a nice day out if the weather is good, we took picnics both times and at them by the monument, but in the rain its a bit of dismal trek around the park. There is shelter from the rain, but you have to get to the farm first where there is a cafe, gallery of old photographs of Gibside and discovery centre.

The monument seen through the trees

Gibside also runs activity days throughout the year, when we went it was lambing weekend where you could see the tiny lambs being bottle fed and has a farmers market weekend once a month.

This pond/lake is at the bottom of the monument

If you make it around the estate to the stables, just around the corner is the woodland adventure playscape, which is basically an assault course made of wood. Children have to climb over bridges, through tunnels and all sorts of things.

Woodland adventure playscape

Stephen modelling the assault course

Gibside is a lovely place to go for the day, especially if you are looking for somewhere to walk the dogs or to tire out your kids. There is also a shuttle bus that runs from the entrance to the stables cafe for people who don't want to walk.

Gibside website

• Address:
  near Rowlands Gill, Burnopfield, Gateshead, NE16 6BG
• 
  

Telephone: 01207 541820

This is a video that my co-explorer Stephen made of our day out:

Hughenden Manor

5/6/2010

I went for a walk at Hughenden Manor and used my National Trust Membership so technically I had a free day out, which is always good. I walked in the woods, but got lost for ages which would have been fine except I didnt know the area so wasn't 100% sure I would ever get home again. It was a really muggy, overcast day but everywhere was really green and pretty and all the flowers were coming out.

Hills around High Wycombe

Hughenden Manor and Gardens

Flowers

Flowers

Statue in the garden

Woods

Sheringham Park

Today I went for a walk in Sheringham Park.

So I have returned home for the week, back to good, old, flat Norfolk. No surprises and no ridiculous hills to be found here. I have lived in Norfolk all my life - or at least all that I can remember of my life, and typically I never appreciated it till I went to live in Sunderland. Sunderland isn't green enough for me and there isn't much in the way of nature in the city centre where I live.

Yes, there are parks, but they don't compare to mile upon mile of open grass land, cows and fields back at home.

This is what I miss most about home.

Bluebells over looking the houses on the estate

Rhododendron bushes shedding their petals

I haven't minded this quite so much since I took my car up to Sunderland, since I could then leave the city centre and go and explore.

Every Sunday morning when I was growing up, my family - like a lot of other families, would go for a walk for "family bonding time".

We used to go to all the local national trust places near to us, Felbrigg Hall, Blickling, Sheringham Park, Holt Country Park and anywhere else close enough so, that when two children and a dog where put in a car the inevitable fights and squabbles wouldn't last too long and make the adults want to throw us into the nearest ditch and drive home as fast as they could.

Bushes of flowers are common all over the park, often with a clashing colour scheme

My sister and I used to have an awesome time in the woods, collecting sticks and having sword fights or pretending they were the ponies our parents refused to buy us. Filling our pockets with odd looking stones, collecting leaves and flowers, getting covered in mud or running ahead and hiding behind trees and trying to scare our parents when they caught up with us. 

Sherringham Park Woods in spring time

I thought the green on the forest floor was water when I first saw it

Anyway, Sheringham Park is a couple of miles outside of Sheringham on the Norfolk coast line, and is owned by the national trust. There are miles and miles of walks to go on, some short, some long. You can walk 5 or 6 miles too the beach or just potter about the woods admiring the brightly coloured bushes of flowers.

When I was young - and in fact up until Christmas this year - there were board walks along the boggier bits of ground, however these have now been removed and replaced with gravel paths, presumably for safety reasons. I'd contest this though, however slippy wooden planks can get nothing compares pain wise to getting gravel stuck in your knees and then having to have it tweezed out by your very unsympathetic mother.

 The board walks were more fun too, you could stamp on them and pretend that dragons lived underneath. You can't do this with a gravel path.

Cows roaming wild and free

View of the sea from the park

Sheringham Park is a lovely place to visit, on your own or with a group of people, its free entry to national trust members or £4.50 all day parking to visitors. Dogs are welcome.