Arlington Court In North Devon

During our stay in North Devon (see my North Devon holiday post here), my husband and I decided to make out National Trust membership to good use and visit the Arlington Court. This national Trust is an unexpected jewel on the edge of Exmoor, a complete estate held by the Chichester family for over 500 years.

For the little story, the House and the estate were gifted to the National Trust in 1945 by Miss Rosalie Chichester, the last member of the family to live at Arlington. Her passion for nature collecting and photography can still be seen here today.

The Arlington Court offers 5300 acres to visit including the Victorian Flower Garden, the Carriage Museum, the Arlington house, the Kitchen Garden, and the Lake Walk.

We started our visit by the house and I have to say this is probably one of my favorite visits of all the many National Trust houses that I visited the past few years. I especially love the afternoon room for ladies to enjoy with the dining room next to it. Oh and the lady Boudoir where I am pretty sure they shared lots of gossip and secrets away from the men. 

I could easily see myself there enjoying cakes and mini sandwiches with a large amount of Earl Grey. A delight.

The house is very well preserved and all the collections that Miss Rosalie Chichester was very affectionate toward to were present at each corner from an impressive collection of miniature boats to many paintings. I could feel deep in me a positive vibe within the wall of this court you could tell Miss Rosalie Chichester was a lady who loved animals (she own all sorts of pets such as; ponies, horses, dogs, ducks, swans, etc), arts, and people (she loved photography and she enjoyed taking all her animals on pictures with all the views of the Arlington Court). 

She also said herself that she refused to have her Arlington Court go to privileged people, after her death, which would turn it into a luxury golf court. She wanted Arlington Court to be for the people of all backgrounds and to enjoy for centuries to come hence she gifted Arlington Court on her will to the care of the National Trust people.

So let's thank her that because of her generous gift we can all enjoy this delightful place.

After the visit to the house itself, we decided to see the Kitchen Garden situate few minutes walk from the house, and not only its a place of beauty my husband was dreaming that he could one day own such a Kitchen Garden (he's a keen gardener). Our next visit was to the Carriage Museum (located in the original stable block) also minutes walk from the main house. This carriage Museum is actually home to one of the most significant collections of carriages in the whole country. Ranging from elegant coaches, to travel coaches or to just carrying servants. 

The Old Kitchen at The Arlington Court has been turned into a lovely place to eat or to just get refreshment. 

This tea room offers warm dishes such as soup, stews, chili Con-Carne or sandwiches or if you have a sweet tooth then don't worry the Tea Room also offers a wide variety of cakes, scones, cookies, etc. and the menu have Vegan options too and kids option if needed along with all the traditional hot or cold drinks.

I forgot to take pictures of our lunch there ( Oups !!! I guess we were too hungry)  but my husband and I enjoy a vegetarian chili con-carne with bread that was as big as my head along with an oak-smoked cheddar and ham sandwiches made of two thick slices of bread that would make Pret-a-Manger shame. Prices are affordable and the staff, as per usual, are the loveliest. So don't hesitate to munch or drink something, you won't be disappointed.

Arlington Court is a beautiful place full of history, meaning, and a wonder to see from all the walks along with the thousand of acres, the lake, the Kitchn Graden, the Coaches museums, and much more, Perfect to spend a day there as so much to see and to enjoy.

Have you been to Arlington Court/ Tell me all by commenting below?

Thanks for reading :)

Marie