Belton House, and a Very English Country Estate

Recently I posted about my visit to Issac Newtons birthplace.  In the same weekend I managed to visit the beautiful Belton House, which is also in Lincolnshire, not once but twice!

In many ways, Belton House is a typical National Trust Property.  It is a large house, with well kept gardens, plenty of space in which to walk and and play and a good tea shop.  However there is also an orangery, a lake, lots of fallow deer a maze and a statue walk!

The House

Belton house was built for The Brownlow Family in 1680 and has all the features or a prosperous country house.  The interiors are lavish and there is clear indication of wealth and prosperity wherever you look.

There is so much to see in the house with numerous rooms to look at and admire.  The family were great collectors so there are vast collections of books and paintings and ceramics.  Because of this Belton House is often given claim to being the perfect english country estate.  I was especially impressed but the library.  We were reliably told that most of the books had been read at one time or another.   I always enjoy seeing bedrooms in these kinds of houses, imagining what it would be like to sleep below vast swathes of silks and satin and be woken by a ladies maid!

Below Stairs Tour

An optional extra when visiting the house is to take the Below the Stairs Tour.  This offers a view of the life of servants, and entry into a mostly hidden part of Belton.  The tour is around 45 mins and is conducted by one of the very knowledgeable volunteers.  We learnt lots about the logistics of catering for and serving an aristocratic family as well as learning about the kind of jobs servants had to do.  If you’ve got lots of time I would recommend doing this.

The Gardens

The gardens are vast with over 50 acres in total of formal gardens, pleasure grounds and lakes.  There are so many places to wander and pause for a while.  When we visited bluebells were in full bloom and the walk down to the lake was stunning with carpets of bluebells and late flowering daffodils.

Blossom was also forming on the trees and with the sunshine and blue skies it really was all as pretty as a picture!

There is a statue walk which provides many photo opportunities and of course a maze!  At the front of the house is a huge lawn which is a perfect picnic spot, and it is here we headed on our second visit simply to take advantage of this. Despite it being a busy bank holiday weekend we were able to find a spot far enough away from other people so foot balls could be kicked without fear of them landing in someone else’s picnic! From here the fallow deer which inhabit the 1300 acres of parkland are clearly visible.

During 2018 the National Trust is running  a year-long programme called ‘Women and Power’, shining  a light on women’s histories to celebrate the centenary of female suffrage. At Belton this year, they are telling the stories of four women whose lives are woven into the spirit of Belton. None of the women achieved fame or fortune for their work, but through the house and gardens you can see examples of embroidery and paintings created by them.  It’s a lovely aside to all the other treasures on display.

I particularly enjoyed the botanical paintings in the orangery.

If you are in Lincolnshire I highly recommend Belton House there is so much to do and see.  Even if you don’t make it into the house, the gardens are so beautiful, and well worth a visit in their own right.

Opening Times

As with most NT properties they are not open all the time

Belton House is open Wednesday to Sunday from 12.30-4pm, and entrance is by timed ticket only.

Below Stairs Tours run from 11-3 when the house is open and again have to be booked when you visit.

The Gardens are open daily from 9.30-5.30

Below are links to some other national trust properties I have visited.

Thomas Hardys Cottage

Woolsthorpe Manor

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