Monday 10. November 2025
Lapworth, Warwickshire
A couple of weeks ago I took myself off on a day trip to Packwood House – a National Trust property tucked near the village of Lapworth in Warwickshire.
Packwood House is a beautifully restored Tudor house with proper storybook charm… plus parkland and gardens, which I’m sure are lovely in the sunshine. On this particular day, though, the weather was doing its best “biblical deluge” impression. Great for ducks, less great for me trying to admire hedges.
The drive up from Cirencester took just over an hour, even with the M5 impersonating a river. Honestly, every time it rains the motorway population seems personally offended by the concept of water.
Once I’d dried off a bit, I had a really good wander around the house. It has that cosy, lived-in feeling you don’t always get in these big historic places — like someone’s just stepped out of a room to fetch a cup of tea. The main hall was especially gorgeous, with the fire going and that warm, woody smell that makes you think, “Yeah… I could definitely live here.”
Speaking of living here: the living rooms became my favourites pretty quickly. They’re the kind of rooms where, if I actually owned Packwood (in some unlikely parallel universe where I win the lottery), you’d absolutely find me curled up in a chair with a good book, losing track of time and pretending emails don’t exist.
After braving the gardens — or rather, splashing my way around them like an enthusiastic but slightly damp tourist — I made a beeline for the café. And yes, I treated myself to a hot chocolate. Very necessary. Very warming. Very “I deserve this for surviving sideways rain”.
FH.
