Shugborough Historic Estate

Shugborough Historic Estate has a complete working old fashioned farm. With its huge mansion, complete with servant quarters. A historic working farm and mill, with lots of animals to see. Extensive grounds with walled gardens. Craft workshops, also an Island Arboretum and tea shops. Shugborough is a complete day out.

Firstly we walked through one of the walled gardens, this garden was also a vegetable plot. Here also house the old workshop of the blacksmith for the estate. Moving on we entered the craft workshops. A character in costume sat at the spinning wheel producing some lovely hand crafted items. Next stop was the farm. I was in my element, with a huge bull and a shire horse named William. There were lots of other animals here, everything you would find in a farm yard. We wandered about walking through the farm house kitchen were the cook was baking in a large built in stove. The lady of the era asked Aaron many questions which he was happy to answer correctly to her surprise. 

Leaving the kitchen we entered the old working mill before we reached the open plan farmyard court yard. In pens here were small animals including a range of different types of hens. Off the court yard was an old buttery. A lady of the era was making cheese. This cheese was very unusual it was nettle based cheese with a nettle covering. 

Time for a coffee stop, then it was on wards to the outside paddocks. We wandered around the animals pigs, sheep, donkey, and again William the shire horse.

Leaving the farm we walked along the path to the mansion. Firstly we walked around the servant quarters before moving on to the main house. The house was fascinating room after room full of lovely furniture. To our surprise part of this huge mansion was modern this was the part of the house was used most recently by Lord Lichfield. 

After finishing in the house we headed for the gardens and the rest of the grounds, we wandered along trails crossing the river. Shugborough  is a whole day out very educational for all, well worth a visit.