Reviews Avebury Manor Tea-room

Unlike most Nat Trust properties, in as much as we're asked not to touch, not to sit etc .... not a thistle in sight !!! Met at the entrance with 'touch everything, enjoy, sit, go to bed .. ' !!! The empty manor was left to the Trust, in need of renovation. The BBC approached with an offer of filming a 'To the Manor Reborn' series, featuring Penelope Keith etc, looking at completing the much needed work, and providing replica (handmade) furniture, fitting each room from a different period of time it was lived in by its current occupants. Unlike many, this Manor hasn't been passed down from generation to generation, so there is little family history, but lots of seperate family stories. The result is an eclectic mix of times, families and stories. Absolutely superb for children, it was a real pleasure seeing the children dressing up, going to bed, holding kitchen utensils and having to guess they're uses. The guides were simply brilliant - most especially the kitchen guide, the children were totally transfixed by his stories. Beautiful gardens, plenty to see. Usual gifts, cafe, toilets etc. Lovely sculptures on display in the gardens. Would recommend, and then there's the stone circle !!! ... what more could you ask for ?!

A delightful manor house with beautiful gardens. Unusually, every room is decorated in a particular period style and you are able, mostly, to sit on the chairs and thoroughly examine the exhibits. This is because many items are reproduction, and it makes for quite a change from the majority of NT properties. There is also the opportunity to try on period costumes, which is a wonderful idea, and as there are no restrictions on photography, some remarkable photos may be taken.

We went to Avebury on a sunny Sunday and had a pleasant time. We arrived at the car park and managed to luckily get a space. I definitely advise getting there early if you can. We then walked down a narrow tarmac path towards Avebury. There were lots of really helpful signs and maps to guide us to the Visitor Reception area. First though, we went into the shop for, of course, to get a fridge magnet and a pin badge. They had a fridge magnet, but the lady said they used to have pin badges but no longer, which was sad. We chatted a bit and then headed to Visitor Reception, which is a massive barn, with so much information to read about the site in. We made our way to the desk, and low and behold, there were property pin badges. We were very happy and obviously surprised to see them when, under the assumption, they didn't do them anymore. They also had pin badges in the museum, too. Maybe they should get some more for the shop or at least tell the shop team that there are pin badges to get in other places on site. But anyway, tangent over, the lovely VR guy explained the significance of every detail on the pin badge, which was really cool how well thought out it was. He gave us a map and the tickets for the museum and the house and gardens. Whilst my partner used the loos, our child found the colouring in and puzzles table, which was really nice to have to keep small children entertained. We made our way into the museum, and it was small but interesting. Personally, it's not really my sort of history I liked, but it was really well displayed and good information. We only spent a small while there and then headed for the house and gardens. We entered the walled garden next to the church, and it was so colourful still despite it being the middle of Autumn. The dahlias were so pretty, and we also got to see the resident Robin up close, which was cute. We made it to the Manor House and parked the buggy outside. The volunteer on the door was really sweet and really helped us with finding our way round the house. We also got given a map of the floor plan of the house which was needed as it was a maze of amazing rooms. It definitely was one of the most atmospheric houses we have been too with each room having its own style and story. It had ambient sounds and music as well as fake fireplaces with orangey glows. The kitchen did this brilliant with the glow from the oven and the clattering of utensils. We met another house volunteer called Andrea in the dining room. She explained the story of the wallpaper and the gout chair and the exercise chair in the corner. She was also very good with our child. She was ever so friendly and informative. We also really enjoyed the dressing up room, and the house really felt like they wanted children there, whereas most National Trust houses you feel them on edge whenever you walk in with children. It is a really welcoming, friendly house for everyone with so much to see. Once we had finished the house, we headed outside into the rest of the gardens. They were very pretty and pleasure to stroll around. We headed back out towards the Visitor Reception area, where there were loads of seats, so we decided to have lunch there. We finished up and made our way into the village. My partner loved the Henge shop, which isn't National Trust, but had lots of lovely stuff all the same to see and buy. We stopped off at the bookshop and perused. Eventually, we made it to the The Cove, which is the 2 main big rocks in the centre of the Avebury circle. These are enormous and great for photo opportunities. We said hi to the sheep and went back across the road to see more of the stone circles before heading back to the car park. The only problem with Avebury is that it is definitely not pram/buggy friendly. It is very narrow everywhere, such as the pathway down front the car park or the gateways or just the area in general. So, if you can, try and avoid one as you will enjoy it more. Overall, we loved Avebury, but we will definitely not bring a buggy next time when we come back.

Magnificent Country Manor with interesting interiors, and beautiful gardens full of sculptures, butterflies and bumble bees. The walk around the stone circle is free, with some steps but mostly level paths, and great views over the surrounding countryside, mind the sheep though. The café serves the usual fare, and is pretty expensive (£7.00 for a Cornish pasty!), but the money goes to maintaining the site. Car Park is £7.00 all day, but free to NT members. There's a good pub in the village, that gets busy as it's popular with bikers,especially at weekends. Apparently it's haunted too.

Beautiful gardens, traditional walled gardens and fantastic topiary. Really lovely planting, and wonderful main building. Then inside the Manor, we were transported into a succession of charmingly recreated rooms, each in a different period style. The staff were incredibly friendly, and brought it to life. This approach is to period restoration what the Van Gogh Experience is to traditional galleries... accessible, fun, and engaging. My 11 and 16 year old boys absolutely loved it, especially chatting to the staff.