Ramshackle red brick walls
Greys Court is surrounded by a clutch of equally venerable stone and red-brick cottages and houses, one of which shelters the National Trust tea room, which doesn't seem quite up to the charity's usual standards. The buildings are surrounded by rose, wisteria, white, cherry and kitchen gardens, mostly enclosed by ramshackle red brick walls and criss-crossed by attractive stone paths. To survey the whole estate, you can climb up a medieval stone tower taking a series of steep staircases to the top. Several mature trees flank the tower, soaring high above the manor house. Near the car park, is a fun maze of circular paths, not enclosed by hedges, marked out on one of the lawns. If you can't get into the main house, you should do one of the walks around the 280 acre estate, such as Sir Felix's Gentle Path. This short stroll takes you through some pleasant woodland and past several fallen trees that kids will enjoy clambering along. On the way back, you can stop to investigate a nineteenth century ice house and take the little Moon Bridge over the ha ha into the gardens. Admission to these evocative and timeless gardens is a reasonable £5.20 for adults and £2.75 for children. 7/10