Polesden Lacey after lockdown – National Trust reopened
Days out are like buses right now. None at all for months courtesy of lockdown, then two come at once. After the National Trust reopened some of its properties, we headed to Polesden Lacey after lockdown to see what changes there are when you visit.
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The day before, we’d headed down the road to do the same at Kew after lockdown to check out what a socially distanced day out might look like – and to enjoy the chance to explore in the knowledge that limited numbers meant it wouldn’t be packed.
Despite being one of our closest National Trust properties, it’s been a while since we last visited Polesden Lacey. But having the grounds and the woodland to wander through, as well as the formal gardens, made me hope we’d have a similar experience, even if it’s not quite the size of the botanic gardens.
For more ideas of great National Trust sites in Surrey, check out our visit to Winkworth Arboretum with kids
Polesden Lacey after lockdown
It’s hard to believe, sometimes, how much I’d fit into a standard weekend or half term. After months indoors, I was tackling only my second drive longer than 10 minutes and third day out since March (after our walk in the Chilterns and day at Kew).
I felt oddly nervous! Not helped by the fact that the GPS on my phone stopped working as we drove through the Surrey countryside.
But despite that, we arrived around five minutes before our 3pm ticket slot and drove slowly up the long drive.
I’d printed our tickets out, but the cheerful member of staff at the gate had a list of names for each timeslot, and having waved my membership card up against the window (opened by a centimetre or so, so we could hear each other), I was waved through to park.
With no payment needed in the car park, we headed in towards an oddly empty entrance. The toilets here are open, working on a one in, one out system.
There’s a member of staff outside the main door here too, keeping an eye on numbers, and every other stall was closed, while the hand dryers were also turned off. All were sparkling clean.
Another member of staff was waiting through the archway to let us know the changes – there’s a one-way system through the formal gardens but otherwise you’re free to roam.
We set off on a loop around the house into the woods first, passing two food and drink vans which were checking the set-up to reopen from June 8, serving hot drinks and snacks.
Minnie was not impressed to discover that meant no ice cream. Although if you visit from next week, you might have more luck with your cake cravings – evidently my brain has been trained to expect a scone stop whenever we visit the National Trust!
And while the lovely natural playground in the woods is also closed, there were several other stepping stone tree stumps and log stacks to climb and clamber on.
Even with some other families visiting, numbers were so limited that it was easy to distance, and everyone was very respectful of taking turns.
After wandering down a few paths through the trees, past the bird hide, we headed into little glades to discover giant trees – and using the birdnet app I had downloaded during lockdown to identify bird calls, found that we were listening to a mistle thrush.
A couple of swings hung from sturdy branches on the edge of the woodland; lovely to sit on and gaze out down into the valley before strolling through the long grass looking out for butterflies.
Our walk brought us back towards the house – I realised that between visiting Polesden Lacey after lockdown and during the winter, I never seem to get inside the house itself. One day!
Bees were buzzing in the salvia and I followed the advice of a sign, taking deep breaths and relaxing as we looked out to sheep across the valley.
The slope is perfect for rolling down and racing back up, overlooked by stone statues outside the house.
Griffins we thought (or possibly an unexpected dragon); having found a giant daisy head lying on the grass, Minnie warily fed it to them before we made our way to the gardens.
Signs point the way to go on the one-way system here, some attached to garden forks, as the paths in the formal gardens are relatively narrow.
It wasn’t at all busy, so we could stroll slowly here too, watching more bees buzzing joyfully in the flowers, looking at the sundial and the beautiful roses without worrying about queues behind us.
It’s easy to step off to one side if someone is moving faster and you want to amble though.
Emerging back towards the house, we paused by the gravestones for various pets belonging to the house’s owners, as the path wound back round to our start point.
From here, we could have headed back into the grounds if Polesden Lacey hadn’t been about to close. We had been there for just under two hours and on a cloudy summer’s day, that felt as much as we wanted.
If you book an earlier time slot, you can stay as long as you fancy but realistically I think most people will be planning a similar visit rather than a full day out in the circumstances.
For properties with larger grounds, you could fill more time, but with a lot of the facilities shut, our visit had come to a natural end anyway.
And for a little while, between watching the bees, swinging in the trees and racing each other across the lawns, it felt like we’d found a few hours of normality to enjoy again.
For more National Trust sites that have reopened, check out what we thought of Osterley Park after lockdown and Cliveden after lockdown
Visiting National Trust reopened sites
So how does a visit to the National Trust after lockdown work? All National Trust houses are still closed but more properties are beginning to open up each week, starting with a selection on June 3.
All entry must be prebooked, even for members. Restaurants, cafes and shops are closed, as well as some other facilities like play areas, depending which property you head to.
New properties are being added to the list every week, so it’s worth doublechecking: in some cases, the grounds are open but car parks remain closed.
Tickets become available on Fridays for entry the following week. From my own experience, you need to be quick off the mark, at least for now: at 8.30am on the Friday before our visit, when I booked, the weekend had sold out entirely as well as all weekday slots before 3pm.
The following week, a friend who tried to book for Cliveden found herself waiting in an online queue without success and by midday, when she rechecked, all slots had gone. Writing this on Saturday, every slot has gone for Polesden Lacey for next week, as well as for several other properties I checked.
As more properties reopen, hopefully it’ll get easier with more availability but it’s worth being aware that you have to plan ahead.
Entry prices vary if you’re not a member – for Polesden Lacey, it’s £10 for adults, £5 for children over five (there’s no option to add gift aid currently).
There’s a 30-minute window for entry, and you’re advised that if you arrive outside that, you may not be able to enter.
Some car parks may still be charging for non-members: at Polesden Lacey, the machines were covered up on the day we visited, so it was free to everyone who had booked – and no need to press buttons which is reassuring.
To book tickets to Polesden Lacey, click here to check the latest availability, or visit the National Trust website for the latest properties to reopen.
PIN FOR LATER: POLESDEN LACEY AFTER LOCKDOWN
Images copyright MummyTravels
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