Explore the Gunby estate

A reflective and calm pond with red and brown autumn foliage surrounding it. — Explore the wider Gunby estate, including the ice house pond, during autumn | © National Trust

With 1,500 acres on offer there is plenty to explore throughout the Gunby estate. Take a short walk to the ice house pond, or go further and explore the remnants of Gunby village. Nearby the village, you can discover evidence of the medieval moated manor where the Massingberd family once lived before Gunby Hall was constructed

Walk to the ice house pond

This short walk will take you past St Peter's Church and across the parkland to a secluded yet serene spot: the ice house pond. On your way back you will be met with a dramatic view of Gunby Hall in the distance.

Keep a look-out for the remains of Gunby village, once a settlement with 15 households dating back to 1563, but which had disappeared by the time Gunby Hall was built in 1700.

View of the church and the surrounding parkland of Gunby Hall, Lincolnshire — View of the church and the surrounding parkland of Gunby Hall | © National Trust Images/Rupert Truman

Walk to the remains of Bratoft Manor

Explore the Gunby parkland and estate on a four-mile walk to the church in the nearby village of Bratoft. Along the way, you'll pass the remains of Bratoft Manor where the Massingberd family lived before they moved into Gunby.

You'll also cross the disused East Lincolnshire railway line which was constructed in 1848 to link Grimsby to Bolton. This is now a permissive right of way rich in wildflowers during the summer months.

Walk to Monksthorpe Chapel

To explore further afield, take the eight-mile walk to Monksthorpe Chapel. Now in the care of the National Trust, it was previously used for regular church services up until the 1970s.

Look out for the open-air baptistry outside the chapel which was used for full immersion baptisms, and see a war memorial commemorating those who lost their lives in a tragic accident at the adjacent RAF Spilsby airfield back in 1944.

Walk directions for all walks can be downloaded using the QR codes in the car park and near the gate where you enter the parkland from the gardens. Printed versions are available from the welcome shed in the car park.

Monksthorpe Chapel, with the steps up from the Baptism Pool in the foreground, and the cottages under restoration on the Gunby Hall Estate, Lincolnshire — Monksthorpe Chapel | © National Trust Images/David Sellman

Have a go at Nordic walking

Have a go at Nordic walking.

Turn a walk into a work-out with a Nordic walking session.

Nordic walking is an enhancement of ordinary walking that ensures the whole body shares the workload and benefits from every step taken.

Originally developed from the summer training regime of cross-country skiers, Nordic walking works the upper and lower body by engaging 90% of your body's muscles.

Gunby's Nordic walking instructor Lesley Julian has been leading Nordic walking sessions at Gunby for ten years and shares her love and knowledge of the activity with many visitors.