Wollaton - Hall and Park
w/e 06 January 2007
All this week's pictures were taken with a Kodak DX6490

Wollaton Hall

It seems for some inexplicable reason, that we are always drawn to Wollaton during the winter months and this year has proved to be no exception. Maybe it is because everywhere else locally looks a little drab in January but there is always something of interest in Wollaton Park. Since being featured on this site last year, all the scaffolding that surrounded the Hall and the Stable Block has been removed but an area on the other side of the Hall to this view is fenced off as restoration work is still being carried out on the garden wall and steps.
The Grounds

On this visit we did not make it down the hill to the lake but stayed close to the Hall in the formal gardens and this pleasant wooded area near the golf course.
Camelia House

We also pressed up close to the glass of the newly refurbished Camelia House originally built in 1823 to see inside and were joined by a friendly little robin scavenging in the borders nearby.
The Salon

We also decided on this occasion, as it has been some time since we had been inside, to enter the Hall and explore some of the rooms. Passing through the Great Hall (left and right) we entered the room seen above that is known as "The Salon". The information board on the left of the picture above reads as follows:-
"This room was once the dining parlour, separate from the turmoil and noise of life in the Great Hall. When Lord Middleton modernised the interior of the Hall in the early 19th century it was extended and elegantly furnished as a sitting room. You see it now as it might have been when Lady Jane Middleton used it as a room where she could sketch, display her natural history specimens and entertain her guests."
Natural History Museum

It is perhaps fitting therefore that much of the Hall now is given over to a Natural History Museum with displays of minerals, insects and many other specimens such as the Indian lion, big game heads and birds as shown above. Anyone who has visited the Hall previously will no doubt remember George the gorilla (left) or the giraffe (right) that used to be situated near the entrance in the Great Hall. Both are still in the museum but they have now been relocated on the first floor. Quite how such large specimens were moved upstairs is a cause for some thought.
African Sunset

Another display on the first floor is titled "African Sunset" and shows many different animals at a watering hole. With an angled cabinet that allows visitors to stand at either side of the display, you get a feeling of being right in there with the animals.
Stable Block

If the Natural History Museum is not to your taste, there is an alternative in the Stable Block which houses an Industrial Museum. We decided to leave that for another time but did enjoy a warming drink in the Coffee Shop. The Stable Block, like the Hall itself, also houses a Museum and Souvenir Shop and is also the venue throughout the year for a variety of events that include Engines in Steam and Agricultural Days.
Red Deer

But whether or not you visit either of the museums or take a walk around the lake or through the gardens, no visit to Wollaton Park would be complete without at least one picture of the red deer.

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