Blickling Hall

 

 

There are an abundance of National Trust properties in Norfolk but only having time to visit one, we decided to go to Blickling Hall which came highly recommended to us.

 

We were advised that the first view of Blickling Hall is breathtaking and we weren’t disappointed.

 

Blickling Hall is an enormous Jacobean building situated at the end of a long grass lined pathway. It was a childhood home of Anne Boleyn and it is said that every year, on the anniversary of her execution, Anne Boleyn's headless ghost arrives at Blickling in a carriage driven by an equally headless coachman. But she hasn't lost her head completely in the afterlife—she carries it along with her during her hauntings. Not surprisingly then that Blickling Hall was voted the most haunted house in Britain in a National Trust survey in October 2007.

 

The estate covers 4,777 acres and includes: 500 acres of woodland, 450 acres of parkland and 3,500 acres of farmland which is actively managed by the National Trust to provide income to support the house, gardens, park and woods.

 The inside of the property is an interesting combination of refurbished Jacobean design and a more modern décor from the 20th century. 

The most interesting story that we heard was that one of the former scullery maids who is now in her late 90s was recently invited back to the house to open a refurbished part of the building.  What a wonderful turnaround from scullery maid to Guest of Honour!

The gardens are truly beautiful and include both formally laid out gardens and flower beds and a more informal section that surrounds the lake – we sat here for some time, soaking up the sunshine and dreaming about what it must have been like to live in a building such as this.

As with most National Trust properties, the tea room is always worth a visit and this was no exception.  We finished our visit to Blickling Hall with a pot of tea, home-made soup and cake.