点评:The house seemed small from a distance and looked a bit underwhelming at first, but it was a lot bigger and better than expected—there are so many rooms! While some rooms felt a bit tacky and others were packed with portraits, the ground floor, basement, and servants’ passage were the most interesting parts. It was fascinating to learn how butlers inspected the food before serving and how the servants prepared it.
Information in each room is provided on long wooden paddles that you can read and return to their holders. Volunteers were stationed in almost every room; some weren't overly engaging, but understandably, not every visitor wants to chat. Others were incredibly helpful, sharing great insights about their specific rooms.
A big safety caution: the stairs leading to the second floor are quite uneven and slippery. While there are rope barriers halfway up to block further access, anyone can still walk up the first few steps and potentially slip.
Outside, the gardens were beautifully well-kept, even though they had clearly suffered from the recent heatwave. As for amenities, the gift shop items are a bit overpriced, but the Orangery Café served excellent cakes at very decent prices.
Overall, it was a fun day out for anyone wanting to see how aristocrats lived. A big shoutout to the National Trust for preserving this historic property!
翻译:从远处看,这栋房子显得有些小巧,初见时也不太起眼,但实际上它比预想的要大得多、也更好看——房间数量多得惊人!虽然有些房间显得有些俗气,还有些房间里挂满了肖像画,但一楼、地下室以及仆人通道才是最有趣的地方。了解管家如何在上菜前检查食物,以及仆人们是如何准备餐食的,真是令人着迷。每个房间里的信息都写在长木牌上,您可以阅读后再把木牌放回原处。几乎每个房间都有志愿者值守;有些志愿者不太主动搭话,这也情有可原——毕竟并非所有参观者都想聊天。而另一些志愿者则非常热心,能针对各自负责的房间提供很多有价值的介绍。
一个重要的安全提示:通往二楼的楼梯相当不平且湿滑。虽然 halfway up the stairs there are rope barriers to prevent further access,但……任何人仍然可能走上最前面的几级台阶时不慎滑倒。
室外的花园养护得相当不错,尽管显然受到了近期热浪的影响。至于配套设施,礼品店里的商品价格略显昂贵,不过“橘园咖啡馆”供应的蛋糕既美味又物有所值。
总的来说,对于想要见识贵族生活方式的人来说,这是一个很有趣的出游选择。衷心感谢英国国家信托基金保护了这座历史悠久的庄园!