National Trust - Felbrigg Hall, Gardens & Estate Reviews Summary

Admission and Parking

Pros:

• "There are plenty of parking spaces."
• "A decent sized carpark, free for members."
• "Parking free if you are a NT member."
• "Car parking is free to National Trust members."
• "Parking is plentiful and free for blue badge holders."
• "It's National Trust so free parking for members."
• "Plenty of car parking, free to NT members & BB holders."

Cons:

• "Seems unfair to have to pay entrance fee plus car parking."
• "Slightly on the expensive side, in my opinion, for what it is."
• "Entry was pricy at over £12 each so we gave that a miss."
• "Have to book in advance just to go for a walk & pay £10 per person + £6.50 for parking."
• "The main carpark is a fair walk to the house."
• "Only down side to our visit was, the cost of the car park at a staggering £5!"
• "£5 parking all day, £12 entry fee."

Staff and Service

Pros:

• "Staff are friendly and welcoming."
• "Very friendly and informative guides in all the rooms."
• "The staff are more than happy to help and the room attendants ready to explain and point out special items."
• "Staff were fantastic friendly and helpful throughout."
• "Staff and volunteers were very friendly, helpful and welcoming. Excellent sausage rolls!"
• "All the staff were friendly and knowledgeable."
• "Staff were friendly and helpful."

Cons:

• "The cafeteria needed more staff... More staff needed."
• "Car park volunteer not particularly helpful and that's unusual for NT properties that we have visited."
• "Staff and volunteers really helpful, except one woman in the Chinese wallpapered bedroom who rather belittled a lady in a wheelchair."
• "But upon entering the House a woman strongly and loudly stated we should have asked for tickets at the office."
• "We have never, ever met such rude, arrogant and ignorant NT staff members at any previous site."
• "The staff seemed entirely disheartened and disinterested in telling me anything other than the basic facts."
• "Met with STROPPY staff."

Cafe and Food

Pros:

• "Had a meal in the restaurant. I chose vegetable tagine which was excellent and a good portion."
• "The Butlers Pantry does a really nice cream tea."
• "Excellent cafe with good choice of food."
• "The coffee shop had friendly and efficient staff with a good choice of food and drink."
• "Cafe has great choices. Allergy friendly too."
• "Cafe was great, sausage baps, tea & a Christmas special coffee."
• "A good restaurant with a selection of hot and cold food at reasonable prices."

Cons:

• "Probably the worst coffee I have ever experienced - undrinkable!"
• "Cafe was OK but in common with many other NT cafe have a limited menu (seem to be standardising on the ordinary)."
• "As with all NT properties food and drink is a bit pricey."
• "The flapjack and brownie were rock hard and the milk I drank was gone off!"
• "The restaurant was very busy and not quite to my taste."
• "Food in cafe is always a welcome reward afterwards, but watch out for long queues and slow service."
• "Cafe extremely expensive - take your own picnic, if possible."

Gardens and Grounds

Pros:

• "Felbrigg Hall's gorgeous Walled Garden is definitely worth a visit."
• "The walled garden is incredible and there are various walks you can take around the estate."
• "Stunning place to visit, beautiful scenery and a lovely walk stopping at the cafe for coffee and cake."
• "The Walled garden is a must see!!!"
• "An absolutely beautiful place, with many gorgeous well kept gardens."
• "The walled gardens contain an orchard, vegetable and herb gardens as well as a large variety of flowers and plants."
• "The walled garden is one of the best I have ever seen with various fruit trees, herbs, flowers and much more."

Cons:

• "Little disappointing that we couldn't go into the house as we got there at 3:01 due to a nappy emergency and was told the doors are already locked."
• "Shame dogs are not allowed off leads all the way round and there are no signs where you can let them off!!!"
• "Confusing signage throughout the grounds and outside the house made this trip less engaging than usual for the National Trust."
• "Please note in the walled garden dogs are not allowed."
• "The Walled Garden is not very impressive, the entire garden seems a bit neglected and not well looked after."
• "The walled garden was okay but certainly didn't match our previous memories."
• "Disappointed that the walled gardens, open until 4:30, were locked up at 4:10."

Facilities and Accessibility

Pros:

• "Dog friendly (dogs on lead) as there is livestock roaming about."
• "Scooters available for hire which we didn't need to book."
• "The new paths, make getting around even easier for those with wheelchair."
• "Clean toilets and disabled toilet available."
• "Photos allowed."
• "Plenty of accessible pathways so anyone can explore and enjoy the amazing views across the meadows."
• "Dogs can roam free in the back woodlands."

Cons:

• "Decent walks with dogs, but, the signage could be better."
• "There is a separate charge for parking - you do need change for the machines but you can pay by card in the hut in the car park which wasn't really clear."
• "We didn't find the children's play area. Not sure they actually have one."
• "Be aware that some rooms, mainly the bedrooms, are currently largely covered under dust sheets to protect the items."
• "Wheel chairs or push chairs may not access the first floor conveniently as this old building is without a lift."
• "The only drawback with my visit was a problematic step on the wheelchair route which was unavoidable and led to a minor injury."
• "The hall is nearly completely inaccessible."