点评:I'm a big fan of National Trust Properties and since Grantham House was sandwiched in the middle of two others that we planned on visiting, it made perfect sense to stop in for a peek.
I had read that there was no parking on site, so I sought out a parking lot and found a Pay & Display lot about two blocks away. There was a lot of construction going on, so the usual path was closed as was a section of the lot. We were fortunate to find a spot. We walked to the house and we were greeted by a very enthusiastic guide who told us that we didn't need to show our Trust cards as the place was entirely free to visit.
That's a nice perk. And, to be quite frank, had one to pay to visit, I fear one would be greatly disappointed. We visited the third week of September, and most of the garden flowers were spent. The apple trees were bursting fruit, but overall, the garden, although well maintained, was a bit of a disappointment after reading about its glories in the National Trust Book.
The house had no rooms to visit, so I'm confused by a post that states that there were two rooms. Both had staff working behind a desk, and I certainly would not have felt comfortable walking into them as there was no sign that we would have been welcomed. The only part of the house that I could see to permit visitors was a small child's play area and a cafe with a kitchen.
There were a lot of customers enjoying that opportunity, and I don't blame them. Who doesn't enjoy a good cuppa and a treat? And, since you don't have to pay to enter, even better! But, if you are visiting with plans of seeing a historic house on the same scale of others, you will be gravely disappointed. You'll pay to park and really, have not much to enjoy as a result.
翻译:我非常喜欢国民信托旗下的景点,格兰瑟姆庄园正好夹在我们计划参观的另外两处景点之间,所以顺道去看看是再合适不过的了。
我之前看到介绍说庄园内没有停车场,于是就找了个停车场,在两个街区外找到了一个收费停车场。当时庄园附近正在施工,所以通常的通道和停车场的一部分都封闭了。我们很幸运地找到了一个车位。我们步行前往庄园,一位热情洋溢的导游接待了我们,并告诉我们无需出示国民信托会员卡,因为这里完全免费参观。
这真是个不错的福利。坦白说,如果真的需要付费参观,恐怕会非常失望。我们是在九月的第三周去的,花园里的大部分花朵都已经凋谢了。苹果树上挂满了果实,但总的来说,尽管花园维护得很好,但与国民信托手册中对它的赞誉相比,还是有点令人失望。
这栋房子里没有可以参观的房间,所以我很困惑,为什么有人说有两个房间。两个房间都有工作人员在办公桌后面工作,而且没有任何欢迎参观的标志,所以我肯定不会贸然进去。我能看到的唯一可以参观的地方是一个小型儿童游乐区和一个带厨房的咖啡馆。
很多顾客都在那里享受着这份便利,我完全理解他们。谁不喜欢喝杯好茶,吃点甜点呢?而且,既然不用付费,那就更好了!但是,如果你是抱着参观其他历史建筑那种规模的期望而来,那你肯定会非常失望。你不仅要付停车费,而且实际上也没什么可看的。