Travels with a Toddler: Knole Park

A young stag nibbles at a branch - with such elegance

A couple of weeks ago, along with a group of family members including three toddlers (!) Andy, Jem and I visited the National Trust Property at Knole Park in Sevenoakes. The house was originally an Archbishop's palace and is home to some stunning artefacts including some incredibly ornate textiles, an impressive collection of historical portraits, unique pieces of furniture, porcelain... I could go on - it's breathtaking. The house, though is dwarfed by its surroundings, a medieval deer park that stretches on for miles - or at least much further than we could ever have walked that day!

The grounds are really the star attraction, deer that are so tame that they pose for photographs, picturesque views that make you forget that you're right by the center of town. We loved exploring outside, I had a ball taking photographs of the deer - I'm not sure everyone was so pleased to wait around for me.

Going there with little children was not a problem so long as we were willing to make some small sacrifices. Inside the house we were asked to swap our baby carrier - we had a frame carrier (like a large backpack) for a soft carrier, they had plenty to lend out but if I had realised in advance I probably would have been more comfortable using my own. We chose a beautiful autumn day to make our visit, so the weather was not a consideration and there are some easy paths outside for buggies - naturally none of our little ones wanted to spend much time in the buggy. Jem would tell you that the paths were crawlable but slow going!

I hope you enjoy these few pictures. Let me know what you think - feel free to leave a comment.

This stately stag was caught napping, but
obliged me by surveying his kingdom

Posing for his close up

Chimneyscape

Probably my favourite image from the day, a young stag in the bracken.