点评:Living in Northampton and looking for somewhere not too far away for a bit of lunch and nice surroundings Castle Ashby appeared to fit the bill. Despite the wonders of AI saying entry was free for English Heritage members this is not the case. However the online ticket in advance ( saving £1) at £13 per adult ( no senior concession.. not even as it was my 66th birthday!) was considered good value afterwards.
Arriving midweek at 10.00 for opening time was just perfect, a lovely sunny day and it was pretty quiet visitor wise all morning. The gardens are amazing, so tidy and colourful, the lawns immaculate with their green stripes, trees of all shapes and sizes resplendent in the sunshine. The orangery was great, still used for plants etc. Lots of information boards all around. The video in the Orangery featuring the history of Capability Brown’s input was fascinating. No kids for us this time but plenty of provision to keep youngsters amused, a playground and animal enclosures, the meerkats always entertain!
A delightful tea room for lunch or just coffee and cake, along with toilets. Be aware that these are at the entrance, fine for before or after your explorations but a bit of a trek back if you want refreshments half way through your visit. We stayed for about 3 hours inc. lunch, probably would have wandered a bit more if it hadn’t got so hot!
Will definitely return in the future and highly recommend a visit for a lovely way to spend half a day.
翻译:我住在北安普顿,想找个不太远的地方吃午饭,周围环境也不错,阿什比城堡倒是挺合适的。虽然AI说英国遗产会员可以免费入场,但其实不然。不过提前在网上买票(省了1英镑),成人13英镑(没有老年人优惠,甚至因为我66岁生日!),后来觉得很划算。
我周中10点到的时候正好赶上开放时间,阳光明媚,整个上午游客不多。花园很漂亮,整洁多彩,草坪上绿意盎然,各种形状和大小的树木在阳光下熠熠生辉。橘园很棒,现在仍然用来种植植物等等。周围有很多信息板。橘园里播放的视频介绍了布朗将军的历史贡献,非常引人入胜。这次我们没有带孩子去,但有很多设施可以让小孩子玩得开心,有游乐场和动物围栏,猫鼬总是能逗乐!
这里有一间宜人的茶室,可以享用午餐,或者只是喝杯咖啡、吃点蛋糕,还有洗手间。请注意,洗手间位于入口处,适合在游览前后使用,但如果您想在游览中途补充能量,则需要走一段路回来。我们在这里待了大约3个小时(包括午餐时间),如果不是天气太热,我们可能会多逛一会儿!
以后一定会再来,强烈推荐,这是一个度过半天的美好方式。