About The Place…

The National Trust’s Mottisfont Abbey Garden, House and Estate is a great place to frolic on a summer’s day with the kids. They even have “under the stars” (i.e. open air) theatre on some days during the year (although we’ve not yet been to one).

Aside: I used to think it was called “Montisfont”. Its not.

The grounds are large and have two things of interest to kids: a stream to splash in; and a small hill to roll down. The adults will enjoy a wander around the estate building itself and the walled garden with its ancient roses.

We’ve held a couple of birthday parties for Tosha in the picnic area nestled away near the walled garden; its encircled by very tall trees. A nearby woods has trees with low branches that are fun to climb on.

The small stream (as opposed to the major stream also flowing through the grounds) is fed from an underground spring which comes up in a large diameter, stone-lined pool.

The pool part is fenced off, but the shallow stream flowing from it is fun to splash around in. Be warned: its VERY cold water.

Our kids loved to find some twigs to drop into it and watch float downstream and over the small waterfall. Once bored with that they toss in their football and watch it float down and bounce down the waterfall! They then scurry in to retrieve it near the footpath bridge in the forest.

The estate has a cool cellar, which you enter from the small garden outside, and a café which you enter from around the side - the toilets and a small bookstore are there too.

The other stream is much bigger - and there is a footpath down each side, and a bridge at the far end so that you can swap sides for the return journey. Another bridge next to the estate is very pretty and a favourite spot for photos (and dropping things into the river to watch them float away).

For more walking, there is a long (7 miles?) footpath that starts in the car park and wanders through the adjoining woods and fields.

Wikipedia mentions that the unusual name of the Mottisfont probably comes from the Old English motes funta, “meaning ’spring near the confluence’ or ’spring of the moot’ or possibly ’spring of the stone’ (from the Old English motere: sonte)”.

Location

Google map of Mottisfont Abbey, near Romsey, Hampshire, UK

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