The National Trust is giving away free passes to some of its most popular visitor attractions this autumn, including several near Manchester and Liverpool.
The pass can be used until 20 October 2023 and gives you free entry for up to two adults and up to three children, or one adult and up to four children. You can only use it once, so choose your day out wisely. And take note that not every National Trust attraction is covered by it (you can’t use it at Tatton Park for example, or at the Beatles Childhood Homes. There’s a full list of exemptions here).
Below we’ve picked out five of the best places in the North West that you can visit with the pass – particularly if you’re looking for crisp autumn colour. From Dunham Massey with its ancient oak trees and fallow deer, to Quarry Bank Mill with its misty woodland walks by the River Bollin, these are our top spots for a (free) day out amongst the falling leaves.
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AltrinchamDunham Massey
More detailsDunham Massey is one of the National Trust’s top 10 most visited properties, bringing in 439,000 people in 2020/21. We reckon at least 80% of them were Mancunians escaping the city for their nearest bucolic country park.
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StockportLyme Park
More detailsLyme Park is a huge estate with a Medieval herd of red deer, stunning views and a handsome Regency house.
Now a National Trust property, Lyme Park has something for visitors of all ages. Jane Austen fans may know it best as Pemberley, the home of Mr Darcy, where he emerges dripping wet from the lake in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.
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StyalQuarry Bank Mill
More detailsQuarry Bank Mill makes a change from the stately homes in pretty gardens National Trust blueprint. It’s an industrial gem but you’ll still find picturesque riverside gardens, woodland and rolling countryside.
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OrmskirkRufford Old Hall
More detailsTudor house and garden Rufford Old Hall has all the classic features of a National Trust day out. Beautiful gardens, grand buildings, a tea room complete with homemade cakes… and as such it makes for a lovely day out in all weathers.
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SpekeSpeke Hall
More detailsSpeke Hall is a National Trust property on the outskirts of Liverpool. You could say it’s an old Tudor dame of a house dressed up like a young Victorian whippersnapper.
The house itself is a wood-framed wattle-and-daub manor house dating from the 1530s. There’s even a priest hole. So far, so Tudor.
However, after 400 years of a rather turbulent history including riches made on the back of the slave trade, the house fell into decay and was literally falling down. At one point it was used as perhaps the world’s grandest cowshed until it was brought back to life in the Victorian times.
