Calke Abbey

Calke Abbey is one of our nearest National Trust sites and I have been itching to visit it for absolutely ages now, especially since becoming a member. So as I was doing nothing today, a completely free day, and Papa Bee was around and free too, I thought I would take us on a day trip to Calke Abbey. 

Mr Bee was really keen to explore, and since we were there early, we could only wander around the courtyards and stables so we just let him have a roam for an hour .

Tickles!

 Then we decided to waste some energy at the play park, it was a lovely little park, safe enough for Mr Bee to explore wherever he wanted, although he did get soaked on the slide that was wet :(

Ready to visit the House

 Then on our way back from the gardens, we saw a little tiny birdie having a bath in a puddle. He let us watch him for a good while before he flew away. He had a lovely wash and drink!

 Then we headed up to visit the church, where we looked around all of the old headstones from the Harpur family, (the family who owned Calke Abbey) and we found some beautiful engravings.

I loved this tree, its huge!

 After lunch, we finally headed off into the house. It was surprising how one side of the house seemed to be 'lived in' and one side completely deserted. Calke Abbey was handed over to the National Trust in 1985 and hasn't been touched since then. It was amazing to see all the old features, like the servants bells and the kitchen which hasn't changed since the 1920s.

Do you know what this is?

Derelict!

We all had such a lovely day, we will definitely go again some time as we loved the grounds and the wonders inside the house.