lyme park

Fabulous national trust property with grand house extensive grounds & kids adventure playground. Only let down was the little cafe near the playground which was beyond disorganised and took over half an hour to get down a queue of 20 people!

There is enough to do at Lyme House and Park to keep you interested for the whole day. The house is a fascinating mix of the Elizabethan and Georgian periods with much to see, and there are knowledgeable and friendly NT volunteers in the rooms. The gardens are worth a visit regardless of the time of year, and there are plenty of walks in the Park itself. Combined with a good cafe and a large children's play area, it makes for an excellent day out - a rival to nearby Chatsworth.

We choose not to be members of NT, but we do not think it unreasonable to expect the charges to offer fair value to all customers.On our first visit, a couple of years ago, we took an elderly relative which limited our engagement with what was on offer – we toured the house, made a limited foray into the gardens, and ate in the restaurant. We enjoyed the limited visit and have since been looking forward to another visit to o round off our overall perceptions.For our second visit, we decided that we could skip another tour of the house, and likewise the gardens because they will not be at their best in Mid March, and this left us with .... not very much to do. We undertook a couple of walks in the outer areas - one walk taking us around and through wooded area adjacent to the deer enclosure, and the second walk around the Gate Tower.We paid £7 for the car park, and we again ate in the restaurant with a bill of circa £27 (a main course and a bottle of beer times two). The restaurant experience was good, the waitress staff were excellent – pleasant, well clued up on the menu and the range of beers, and the cutlery was not just clean but sparkled. Less impressive is the value of the £7 car park charge, especially at this time of year. We appreciate the need for the facility to pay its way, and that the numerous dog walkers need to make a financial contribution to the upkeep of the facility, but perhaps the car park charge could be redeemable (at least in part) against a restaurant/house & garden bill.We think that there are better visits than Lyme Park, and ones that have a more realistic car park charges, e.g. Chatsworth charges £3.50.

Even if you aren't a Pride and Prejudice fan (which is why we went out of our way to visit), Lyme House and Park is one of the more spectacular English country estates you could ever hope to visit. A walk in the gardens and around the lake affords the best views of the house and you could easily spend a few hours ambling through the park. The inside of the house is also very pleasant.

This old house & park is a credit to the National Trust and a full day can be spent here. The house itself has a lot of its original furniture and restored to how life must of been for the elite of the time. The garden and park beautiful. The restaurant and tearooms are also good.

Stunning grounds, most awesome building.. Just an exceptional day out in every way.. The guides were fun and very knowledgeable.. The artifacts found in the house amazing.. Will go back again in the summer to see the gardens again

We have not visited since the kids were small. We began with a walk in the park grounds, seeing loads of deer up close. Younger kids then enjoyed the adventure playground before we visited the house and gardens. Wow beautifully maintained and so much to see. We especially enjoyed the library where there is a window seat and plenty of books to look at. 2 of my teens played chess. Many other rooms to enjoy and one area that kids can dress up in. The gardens , although winter still a lovely walk around. We will definitely visit again in the summer!

Beautiful country house and estate, maintained brilliantly by the National Trust. May look familiar as it has been the setting for several TV dramas and films - the most famous scene starred Colin Firth as Mr Darcy in Pride and Prejudice. The restaurant and cafe are both good and always busy, we are regular visitors!

On way home North after holiday in Staffordshire and called in to visit as we are N.T. members.Please be aware the only entrance/exit to the estate is off the busy A6 and coming from the east it is a very tight turn in.The hall is in a lovely setting with the beautiful " reflection lake " beside it. Note , for Pride and Prejudice fans , this is not the lake in the famous Darcey scene , that one is about a 30 minute walk from the house.The house is very good to look round with plenty of informative guides to help you enjoy the rooms.The grounds are very extensive with lots of walking opportunities.I nearly marked the visit down to 3 stars ( average ) because of very poor refreshments in the servants tea room.Wish there was a 3.5 star good rating on trip advisor. Very small cardboard cups of something that vaguely resembled coffee....more like discoloured hot water and little slices of overpriced cake was not a good experience. DIdn't go into the main restaurant as only wanted a snack so can't comment on that.In general the N.T. should look at its catering and revamp it.Enjoyed the visit anyway.

We came on a lovely sunday afternoon for a different place to walk our little pooch. It is a huge area and even though the car park was heaving, once you left it, it felt like there was hardly anyone there. We didn't really visit the house, we just walked around the estate for a while and enjoy a late summer day.

It shocks me every time I visit this park. Parking charge goes up moor then fuel prices.& unless your there for a walk with or without your dog then take some bird feed or bread for the ducks. Because there's buggerall els there to do. It's Not a park. It's a patch of land with a pricey car park.

We spent a lovely time looking around the house and gardens. The staff in each room were very informative and we learned a lot about the history of the house. My son is a member of the National Trust so we didn't have to pay to park as he had a car parking pass. If you show your membership is it free to park. The café was very busy and we had a long wait but it was half term. Good choice of food, snacks. We sat outside even though it was cold our coffee warmed us up. It was full inside. Definitely worth a visit if you like old houses and walks.

Visited when it was snowing in January, was a lovely park, great walks and it's really big, the downside is the car parking, couldn't believe my ears when the guy sed it was 7 pounds 50 to park my car!!!! I understand that it may go to the upkeep of the park but this price is just ridiculous, I will not be going again until something is done about this, there are other parks around that are cheaper such a shame :(

We visit here loads,. with the kids, dogs or just us for a walk. There is so much space and lots of areas you cane get away from the crowds. Kids park is great fun too. We tend to bring a picnic as cafe not very good. Can spend a full day easily

Lovely place with wonderful gardens. We came when it was snowing and that added something extra special. Staff incredibly helpful and attentive. Very keen to go the extra mile.