Week Three: The Tinneys visit Wollaton Hall & Deer Park

This week's day out led us across the city to Wollaton Hall and Deer Park. Tours of Wollaton Hall run at 11.30am and 2.30pm daily. We joined the morning tour and our guide Dave led us on tour of the Hall, Tudor Kitchens, Prospect Room and caves. There are lots and lots of hidden staircases in Wollaton Hall, and our tour began with a climb up the spiral staircase to the recently refurbished Prospect Room. The recent restoration work has made the Prospect Room safe for public visits. The original purpose of this room was probably to enable people to watch hunting in the grounds below. It is unlikely to have been a 'ballroom' as the 76 steps up to it are narrow and unsuitable for the type of clothes that a ball would have needed. From the prospect room, we climbed halfway back down the staircase and went out onto the leaded roof, which runs all the way around the hall. Next stop were the kitchens, and on the way down there, Dave drew our attention to points of interest, and little nooks and crannies along the way. Like the hall's only bathroom. The Tudor kitchens were amazing - the original beehive ovens and charcoal stove have been fully restored and the kitchens have been furnished according to the 1601 inventory. From the kitchens, we went down even further into the depths of hidden Wollaton - to the system of caves and cellars underneath the hall. There's even a pool called The Admiral's Bath, which might have been used for swimming in! It was really great to get the chance to see the parts of the hall that are usually hidden to the public, and Dave our guide was brilliant - full of interesting information and anecdotes, and of course some celebrity gossip too, as he was around during the recent filming of Batman at Wollaton. The Cafe in the Courtyard was our destination for lunch, and as the sun was shining, we sat outside to eat, in what once would have been the stable yard. The girls enjoyed choosing the food for their Batman lunchbox. Batman is everywhere you look at Wollaton at the moment, as earlier this year, Wollaton Hall was chosen by Warner Bros as the set of Wayne Manor in the latest Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises. The second part of our day at Wollaton Hall was also Batman themed, and we headed off downstairs again to take part in some Superhero art activities. We painted and decorated plaster Batman masks and bats. Maisy chose a more colourful option to the traditional Batman Black...it might catch on. Watch out for the next Bat film - The Rainbow Knight! Thanks very much to the staff at Wollaton for our behind the scenes tour, for our lunch, and for letting us join in with the art and craft activities. We'd a great time! And a huge thanks once again to Lynzi and Melissa at Experience Nottinghamshire for organising such great days out for us. We have been thoroughly spoiled this Summer. And...still three more days out to go..... If you'd like to see more photos from the Tinney's adventures at Wollaton Hall, or their previous trips across Nottinghamshire, see our Love Notts Facebook Page.