I had Packwood House on my list of National Trust properties to visit for a while now. There is a lovely house here as well as some magnificent gardens. I really enjoyed exploring all the different rooms. Though not authentically Tudor, the early 20th century restoration, which is being conserved, is delightful. The upper floors are lovely. I really enjoyed the long gallery and the great hall at the end was unexpected. After exploring the house, I headed back to the café which was at the entrance. There is both inside and outside seating.
After my previous experience of having a ploughman’s lunch at Stourhead, a National Trust property; when I recently visited Packwood House I wasn’t sure if I would have the ploughman’s or have something different. In the end I did get one as I had another previous but positive experience at Killerton House. This time the plates was significantly better than the one I had before at Stourhead. I got bread this time.
On the plate was two slices of pork pie, slices of apple, a chunk of cheddar, a chunk of stilton, pickles and chutney, coleslaw, mixed leaves and a hunk of bread with some butter. True there was a stick of celery on the plate, but for the purposes of this review I ignored it.
The cheese was good, and the pork pie was also nice. It was a great combination overall of flavours, texture, contrasts, and it was also all nice and fresh. Delicious. I liked the presentation and it was what I wanted from a ploughman’s lunch.
After eating my lunch and drinking my green tea, I headed back to the house, well the gardens. I enjoyed walking around the collection of Yews, and the spiral terrace at the end of the garden was a intriguing surprise.
I had a lovely time at the house, and would go again in the future.