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In mid-June, I joined my work colleagues for our quarterly team-building activity spent in Wollaton Hall in Nottingham. The day before, we held our team meeting in the local office in the city.
Built in 1588, Grade I listed Wollaton Hall nestles in 500 acres of parkland boasting diverse habitats including grassland, wetland and woodland. Herds of red and fallow deer roam free with the lake creating a dramatic contrast to the Hall that overlooks it.
With formal and sensory gardens, historic Camellia House, Doric Temple, ornamental lake and boathouse, avenues of ancient trees and late Georgian lodges, herds of wild deer and 500 acres of parkland, Wollaton Park boasts many unique features. The hall is home to the Nottingham Natural History Museum, restored Tudor kitchens, Admirals Bath, the stunning Prospect Room – located at the top of the building – and Cassandra Room.
Trivia: In 2011, key scenes from the Batman movie The Dark Knight Rises were filmed outside Wollaton Hall. The Hall was featured as the latest Wayne Manor. The Hall is five miles north of Gotham, Nottinghamshire, through which Gotham City indirectly got its name. (Wikipedia)
We arrived too early for the opening of the natural history museum inside the hall. And so we had a quick stroll in the park although we did not get far due to the strong winds that morning. We passed by some early morning joggers telling us that the road ahead was closed due to a fallen tree. We stopped by the lake to admire the view and the local wild birds. We did saw the deer herd from a distance but most of us did not go near the fence as they were too far that morning.
On our way back from the park, we did a quick stop at the botanic gardens. We then proceeded to the hall from the back. Since opening in 1926, Wollaton Hall has been home to Nottingham's Natural History Museum. With a collection of 750,000 objects, ranging from fossils, minerals, plants and eggs to invertebrates, vertebrates, shells (molluscs) and taxidermy, as well as 'spirit' preserved animals and rare specimens from across the globe, Wollaton Hall is the largest dedicated Natural History museum in the county.
Inside, we did a quick tour of the museum's six main galleries: Natural Connections, Bird, Insect, Mineral, Africa and Natural History Matters Gallery. It was a very interesting and educational tour that we capped with a hearty lunch at an equally interesting Hand & Heart pub in the city.
Further information
Wollaton Hall - https://www.wollatonhall.org.uk/
Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wollaton_Hall
Hand & Heart pub - https://www.thehandandheart.co.uk/
All photos were taken with a Panasonic Lumix GF1 camera with the Panasonic Lumix G 14mm f2.5 lens.
