Dunham Massey

Fallow deer graze within feet of the paths at this Georgian estate, and no child forgets their first close pass. The 300 acre deer park and the gardens are open all year, the house from March until the start of November, and there is an adventure playground and an autumn family trail.

National Trust members walk in free. Keep respectful distance from the deer, especially during the autumn rut, and warn children they are wild. The closeness is the magic and the risk in one.

Arrive before half ten on a fine day. It is the busiest National Trust property in the region, the queue to get a car in is real by late morning in the holidays, and members do not skip it. The deer make it worth the discipline: fallow deer graze within feet of the paths, and dawn-ish visits find them lying in the bracken with fawns.

The winter garden gets the publicity but the working sawmill and the old hospital story (the house served as a WW1 military hospital, and the rooms tell it well) give an older child something beyond trees. The gardens are buggy-friendly throughout, and the parkland walk to the Bollin does the dog-and-toddler circuit in an hour.

What it costs: National Trust page on 27 Sept 2026. Park and garden: adult £11, child (5 to 17) £5.50, family (two adults and up to three children) £27.50, or £12.10, £6.10 and £30.30 with Gift Aid. House, park and garden: adult £20, child £10, family £50 (£22, £11 and £55 with Gift Aid). National Trust members and under-5s free. Parking charge refunded with garden entry for non-members.

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