Things to see & do

Enjoy your time here

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50 things to do before you are 11 3/4

50 Things To Do Before You're 11 And Three Quarters

Try den building in our woods, go hunting for bugs or make a grass trumpet. Just a few of the things you can do at Rufford Old Hall.

Ellen Stevens' watercolours

Ellen Stevens watercolour on display in Dressing Room © National Trust

Very little is known of Ellen Stevens - the artist responsible for charming flower studies on display in the Dressing Room. Ask a room guide to learn more.

Don't miss...

  •     The house collection of 16th and 17th-century oak furniture
  •     The beautiful gardens created in Victorian style
  •     Our orchard with traditional varieties of apple

 

Cutting the grass around the bee hives © Chantelle Seaborn

You could say it's a hive of activity

© Chantelle Seaborn

Cutting the grass and 'beeing' busy

Cutting the grass is some what different at Rufford Old Hall - especially when you have bees. They don’t like noise and vibrations near their home, but then again who does?

To hear the hum of the lawn mower in the distance signifies that spring has officially started everywhere. It’s strange how the noise of the lawn mower provokes other gardeners to mow and venture out to garden.

Grass starts to grow at 7 degrees Celsius - interestingly enough, the same temperature that bees will venture out of their hives. Our bees produced 75lb of honey from our two hives here at Rufford last year and it all sold out very quickly.

It’s important that we keep an eye on our pollinating insects as they are responsible for attributing up to 40% of the food we eat. This time of year is the most critical as numbers of bees are increasing rapidly and food stores need to be filled to sustain the hives.

If you would like to know more about our bees please feel free to ask one of our gardening team.