If you’re out and about with family and friends, a stop at a Trust attraction is the perfect place to pause. Most have relaxing tearooms where you can enjoy a fine selection of home made cakes that are sure to satisfy. In fact 95% are baked on the premises, using local ingredients.
Why not try one of the nation’s favourite cakes, as revealed by a recent survey conducted by the Trust. Maybe not surprisingly, chocolate came top of the list; it seems we just can't get enough of it with 1 in 4 preferring it to any other cake. Carrot cake came in a very close second with good old-fashioned fruit cake hanging on to third place, fighting off competition from the more glamorous trio of coffee and walnut, victoria sponge and lemon drizzle.
Luckily, National Trust tearooms offer a selection of cakes to cater for all tastes, so everyone’s favourite is sure to be amongst them. There are hundreds of locations to choose from as well, but the following will certainly give you something to get your teeth into!
In the South West try Dyrham Park a beautiful country house set in extensive parkland, which is currently undergoing restoration to return the gardens to their 18th-century formal design. Situated between Bath and Bristol, you would never believe you were just off the M4. Also easily accessible is Stourhead in Wiltshire, an outstanding example of the English landscape style. This splendid garden with classical temples set around the central lake provides a series of vistas, which change as the visitor moves around the paths and through the magnificent mature woodland with its extensive collection of exotic trees.
Further west, Lanhydrock is a real treat. One of the most captivating and complete late 19th-century houses in England, it’s full of period atmosphere. There is also an adventure playground, with wobbly bridge, scramble nets and animal sculptures to keep the kids entertained.
If you’re travelling in the south-east, and the M25 is getting you down, take a break at Chartwell instead. Bought by Sir Winston Churchill for its magnificent views over the Weald of Kent to Sussex, this was his home from 1924 until the end of his life. The rooms and gardens remain much as they were when he lived here, with personal mementoes strongly evoking his career and wide-ranging interests. If it’s glamour and glitz you’re after, Cliveden is well worth a visit. This spectacular estate overlooking the River Thames has a series of gardens, each with its own character, featuring topiary, statuary, water gardens, a formal parterre, Octagon temple, informal vistas, woodland and riverside walks. A tea stop here is certainly in a different league from the motorway services.
To the East, why not stretch your legs in the beautiful gardens of Anglesey Abbey, not far from the M11, which are home to one of the finest collections of historic statuary in the country. Inside the house, there is also the unique collection of the last occupant which includes paintings, furniture and silver plus one of the Trust’s largest collections of clocks!
In the Midlands, Hanbury Hall is in a tranquil setting off the busy M5. This fascinating house has many features including an orangery, ice house, pavilions and even a working mushroom house. There is also a recreated 18th-century crown bowling green available to play on. Baddesley Clinton, a picturesque medieval moated manor house, is a great place to stop just outside Birmingham. Have tea in the Barn restaurant and then browse the secondhand bookshop – you never know what you might find. Hardwick Hall - just off the M1, is another gem. Like a huge glass lantern, Hardwick dominates the surrounding area; a magnificent statement of the wealth and authority of its original Elizabethan owner.
Also fascinating is Cragside, where the house has just re-opened having been closed for restoration last year. There is also plenty to see in the dramatic garden that surrounds it, including one of the largest rock gardens in Europe, a vast woodland garden, as well as lakeside walks, an adventure play area and labyrinth. If travelling north of the border, make this your last stop before Scotland.
Out to lunch: fresh fruit and vegetables straight to your plate
Time for tea: great places to stop
Take away: farm shops and markets