I'm back with another National Trust adventure! As you may recall from previous posts, we bought full memberships back last summer when we were on our babymoon in Cornwall, and in the past few months we've really tried to make the most of our membership and go somewhere regularly, although this past couple of months life and the weather has really got in the way.
A couple weeks ago we went to visit a friends new baby, and about an hour from them in Hereford is a place called The Weir, so we thought we'd go and take a peek. The Weir is probably one of the smaller National Trust places we've been to, but also one of the ones we've enjoyed the most.
When we got there, we tried to take a family selfie in the sun, but it only made Squidge and Chris squint, and me smile/squint - either way, I thought it made for a funny pic so I added that here for good measure :)
It's pretty cheap to get in to if you're not a member, £6.75 for adults and £3.30 for children, however there isn't a great deal to do there so if you're on a budget, you might prefer to spend a little more money and go somewhere like Tredegar House instead as there's more to look at and do (£8 adults, £4 children). That being said, with a 5 month old we had a great time.
The suggested path is in a bit of a narrow V, starting on the higher part of it, and going a little uphill. The views (which is really why you'd come here) are fantastic, both looking down at the lower path you'll walk back along, and at the hills in the distance over the river. The above pic was taken just at the beginning of the path.
Here's some of the views you'll be greeted with along the higher path - there were lots of daffodils and snow drops cropping up and the paths were lined with trees. I'd really like to come back here in the summer when the trees have leaves on and there's a new assortment of flowers that will have grown.
If you wanted a shorter walk, there was this path down to the lower path - or if you simply wanted to explore without having to do the whole walk (although it isn't that long).
Not too far down the path there was this lovely little hut, I couldn't get a great picture of the outside of it, but this is the inside - it had a really funky handmade bench and pattern on the floor - everything looked reclaimed and used from fallen wood etc, but really creatively made.
We were heading straight to the tea tent as we hadn't had lunch - we picked up some cakey treats from the admissions hut to have when we got there, and on the top path was this house. Unfortunately when the whole place sold (house and land) the National Trust didn't buy the house either, which is a shame as it would have been fab to have a look around it.
A view through a break in the hedges just beyond the house - spectacular!
This was the recently added tea tent. There was 3/4 picnic tables, each with some fresh flowers on (lovely touch), and a table by an outdoor tap with a kettle, fridge and some tea bags. That brick wall on the left was the back of the loo's - don't worry you couldn't hear anything or smell anything! It's worth mentioning that the loo's were made up of 1 room which accommodated men, women, disabled people, and had a baby changing table on it, which we used.
There's a trust box there to pay and you serve yourself, I was very disappointed to see though, that we were the only people who actually paid for our tea - there were 2-3 other older couples there, and a young couple, all who drank their tea and left without contributing.
After the tea tend we walked to the pinnicle of the path (the peak in the V) and started our walk back. On the walk back there was this gorgeous tree which had spread out in a really unusual way, so of course I had to stop and take a picture!
My second favourite photo of the day, the hubby with Squidge on the walk back along the river.
At the end of the path there was this roman octagonal cistern (water shrine) - me, I though it was an old fire pit, but just goes to show what I know! Apparently it was first discovered in 1891 - this wasn't it's original place, it was dug up, and after they realised how significant this find was, they placed it back, but not correctly.
Other than places with houses to explore, this was probably one of our favourite National Trust places we've been to. It helped that it was a lovely fresh Spring day and that the staff there were so lovely. If you have kids that need to be kept entertained this may not be the best place to bring them to as there's not much to do - but for a short-ish walk and a bit of hill it's great - if we didn't have our memberships though, I'd have said this was a little expensive for what it is and admission should really be cheaper.
