{"id":15404,"date":"2025-04-29T10:01:59","date_gmt":"2025-04-29T09:01:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=15404"},"modified":"2025-04-29T10:06:56","modified_gmt":"2025-04-29T09:06:56","slug":"the-national-trust","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=15404","title":{"rendered":"The National Trust"},"content":{"rendered":"
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THE NATIONAL TRUST
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Many readers of Wenvoe What\u2019s On will be members of the National Trust, one of the great institutions of the United Kingdom, or they will know something about it. The National Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter, and Hardwicke Rawnsley. These visionaries sought to combat the rapid industrialization and urbanization that threatened Britain\u2019s green spaces and historic sites. The founders believed in protecting areas of natural beauty and historic interest for future generations, a principle that remains at the core of the Trust\u2019s work today.<\/p>\n

The National Trust owns almost 250,000 hectares of land, 780 miles of coast, more than 200 historic houses, 41 castles and chapels, 47 industrial monuments and mills, the sites of factories and mines, 9 lighthouses, 56 villages, 39 public houses, and 25 medieval barns. The historic houses and castles are particularly worth visiting, and luckily, we have one of them near Wenvoe, Dyffryn Gardens. It is a pleasant cross-country walk from Wenvoe, going up Burdons Hill and across the golf course on the public footpath to reach Dyffryn Gardens where you can visit the caf\u00e9 on arrival for refreshments. Or you can arrive by car with a picnic to enjoy the delightful gardens. There is limited access to the house on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. There is also a shop and second-hand bookshop.<\/p>\n

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All National Trust properties offer the chance to explore, many are open all year round and give a good opportunity for exercise, including ever-popular dog walking! Many visitors like to arrive at a National Trust property mid-morning to enjoy a coffee before touring the house and gardens. These properties invariably have a good caf\u00e9 or restaurant offering a selection of fine homemade foods for lunch, and all proceeds go towards restoring the buildings.<\/p>\n

We recently went to visit the last castle to be built in England, a National Trust property called Castle Drago which is 16 miles west of Exeter. It was built between 1910 and 1930 for the owner of the Home and Colonial stores. He had it built as a family home for his wife and three sons, but you have guessed it, by the time it was built his sons had left home. It looks modern and although built a hundred years ago it was one of the first private buildings to have central heating, a telephone exchange and its own electricity supply provided by a water-powered generator in the river below the castle. It is well worth a visit.<\/p>\n

With over 5.7 million members and thousands of volunteers, the National Trust is one of the largest membership organizations in the UK. Its properties attract millions of visitors annually, offering educational programs, family-friendly activities, and community initiatives that help people connect with history and nature.<\/p>\n

You must pay to visit the National Trust properties and as an example entry to Dyffryn Gardens will be \u00a326 for a couple or \u00a332 for a family with three children. If this seems steep compare it with the cost for two adults to visit Longleat which is \u00a390. Members have free entry. Annual membership of the NT appeals particularly to retired couples who have more time. The cost is \u00a3160 for a joint adult membership, which may seem expensive but if you were to visit ten properties in a year it would work out at only \u00a316 for each visit. The National Trust is a great organisation why not start with a visit to Dyffryn Gardens where spring flowers are in bloom.<\/p>\n

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THE NATIONAL TRUST Many readers of Wenvoe What\u2019s On will be members of the National Trust, one of the great institutions of the United Kingdom, or they will know something about it. The National Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter, and Hardwicke Rawnsley. These visionaries sought to combat the rapid industrialization and urbanization that threatened […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[421,228],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6cWjO-40s","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":16249,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=16249","url_meta":{"origin":15404,"position":0},"title":"Definitive List Of Welsh Apples","author":"Alan Williams","date":"23rd October 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Definitive List Of Welsh Apples There has been some press coverage recently following an announcement by the National Trust of the publication of a definitive list of Welsh Apple varieties. There are 29 listed. As we have gone to great lengths to plant many of the Welsh varieties in our\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nature Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Nature Notes","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=49"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Nature-Notes-300x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":13445,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=13445","url_meta":{"origin":15404,"position":1},"title":"CELEBRATING BRIDGES","author":"Alan Williams","date":"9th August 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"CELEBRATING BRIDGES 6 July saw an international celebration following the conclusion of three years of restoration work on the Union Chain Bridge linking England and Scotland across the river Tweed and the unveiling of an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). There is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reader's Travel Tales"","block_context":{"text":"Reader's Travel Tales","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=125"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Picture13a.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Picture13a.png?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Picture13a.png?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":523,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=523","url_meta":{"origin":15404,"position":2},"title":"Gardens in South Wales well worth a summer visit","author":"Wenvoeadmin","date":"19th June 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"In summer everyone enjoys a colourful garden and the bigger the better. Wenvoe What\u2019s On has in the past covered the joys of the National Garden Scheme which covers private gardens, fine as they are, which are open only a limited basis. This article is about three large gardens which\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Latest News"","block_context":{"text":"Latest News","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=70"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/aberglasney_gardens_mansion_original.jpg?fit=800%2C533&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/aberglasney_gardens_mansion_original.jpg?fit=800%2C533&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/aberglasney_gardens_mansion_original.jpg?fit=800%2C533&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/aberglasney_gardens_mansion_original.jpg?fit=800%2C533&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11613,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=11613","url_meta":{"origin":15404,"position":3},"title":"Dogs Trail Cardiff With Snoopy","author":"Alan Williams","date":"7th May 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"DOGS TRAIL CARDIFF WITH SNOOPY To celebrate Dog\u2019s Trust\u2019s new rehoming centre coming to Cardiff. A Dog\u2019s Trail is a spectacular, free public art trail that runs from 8th April \u2013 5th June. For 8 weeks the streets of Cardiff, Cardiff Bay, Caerphilly and Porthcawl are home to a series\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Event Notices"","block_context":{"text":"Event Notices","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=237"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Picture10-210x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7370,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=7370","url_meta":{"origin":15404,"position":4},"title":"100 Saplings Donated","author":"Alan Williams","date":"1st April 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Woodland Trust is donating over 100 saplings We were pleased to hear that the Woodland Trust is donating over 100 saplings for our new hedgerow at The Bee Loud Glade. These will be delivered in the Autumn. A number of people have expressed an interest in the best plants for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Wenvoe Wildlife Group"","block_context":{"text":"Wenvoe Wildlife Group","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=48"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Picture5-300x228.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3777,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=3777","url_meta":{"origin":15404,"position":5},"title":"Dyffryn House","author":"Alan Williams","date":"27th September 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Dyffryn House is the Victorian mansion house within the Edwardian listed gardens in St Nicholas. It is currently managed by the National Trust on a 50 year lease. The House Steward and research teams are always looking for information on the history of the site. The original collection owned\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Latest News"","block_context":{"text":"Latest News","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=70"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15404"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15404"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15404\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15417,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15404\/revisions\/15417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}