Dyrham Park on a sunny day is the sort of place that recharges the batteries like few others. And clearly we weren’t the only ones in need of some fresh air and greenery, with the main car park by no means full, but certainly busier than we had expected for a midweek visit.
Entry to Dyrham is £14 for adults, £7 for children and £35 for a family ticket. With the car park being right by the entrance, you then have the choice of a walk down the path to the main house, or make use of the bus supplied if you can’t manage the distance.
The grounds around Dyrham are just amazing, made up of 270 acres of ancient steep and sloping parkland, full of trees, pathways and wonderful open spaces to explore and enjoy. We’ve been there with and without the children, and enjoyed it enormously each time.
For our most recent visit, we joined the short queue at the tearoom, which is open from 10.30am to 4.30pm for snacks, hot and cold drinks, and light lunches. On the menu for our visit was a selection of sandwiches, hot toasties and pasties, soup of the day and veggie chilli, as well as scones and cakes. We went for the soup and the chilli, a pretty generous slice of Victoria Sponge, some lemon drizzle and a couple of teas, all for around £20.
The tearoom has benefitted from a recent upgrade, which has allowed it to keep its rustic feel while including some eye-catching design features such as copper cladding around the café serving counter and refectory seating.
There’s also indoors and outdoors seating, while the nearby children’s play area has been given a revamp to offer the chance to explore stepping logs, play kitchens, balance beams, a log tunnel and a hoopla board, as well as a mixture of garden games. The old favourite blue and red full-sized tractors are still there for climbing on and letting little imaginations run wild. This is the first phase of play equipment with a second due in the autumn.
Back to our lunch, the soup and chilli were delicious, both served with crusty wholemeal bread, and perfect for fighting off the chill of an early Autumnal breeze. What’s more, the cake was wonderfully indulgent and very tasty. In fact, we were tempted by seconds…
Throughout the service was excellent – polite and professional – while the atmosphere in the tearooms was relaxed, with a mixture of couples, a smattering of walking groups and a couple of besuited people with laptops clearing enjoying the setting for an out of office meeting.
With the lunch finished, there was time for a quick visit to the shop before a leisurely walk back through the gardens to the car, ready for the inevitable school run.
Working from home has its ups and downs, but on a sunny afternoon, the chance for a lunchtime trip out to somewhere as gorgeous at Dyrham Park is a real plus point. And the cakes are pretty good too…