| Animals and Birds |
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| For Children |
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| Historical buildings & Gardens |
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| Towns, Cities & Shopping |
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| Museums, galleries and theatres |
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| Sports |
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| Walks |
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| | Attractions Local to Garnsgate Hall |
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An Introduction to Long Sutton & the Surrounding Area
 | Situated at the meeting of three counties Garnsgate Hall is ideally placed as a base from which to explore the fens of Lincolnshire, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire enabling you to see the best that East Anglia has to offer from large bustling cities to unspoilt rural farming communities. Just off the A17 between Spalding (famous for its flower festival) and the port town of Kings Lynn we are easy to get to by car but sited down a quiet country lane; perfect for relaxing away from all the hustle and bustle of modern life.
Just a short walk away is Long Sutton; a market town which has a long and illustrious history, thanks to its setting in the fertile silt lands of the Lincolnshire Fens. It is mentioned in the Doomsday Book and the Friday market dates back to the early 13th century when the town was a prosperous trading centre.
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St Mary's Church is famous for its 13th century lead-covered timber spire. This is a similar design to Chesterfield's famous twisted spire but Long Sutton's spire still stands straight and true. It is now the highest, oldest and best-preserved lead spire in England and possibly Europe.
Long Sutton was also briefly the hideout of Dick Turpin (under the name John Palmer) and in fact one of the
descendants of the family that built this hall (Captain Delamore) issued several warrants for his arrest for both sheep and horse stealing and Delamore's correspondence with the magistrate at York ultimately lead to Turpin hanging.
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 | There are many lovely walks alongside the local dykes or drains, built, with the assistance of the Danish, to keep the sea from reclaiming the fertile farm land; in fact the route of a 15.3km walk passes the Hall along what remains of the original tree lined avenue that formed its approach (see
"Walks"). There are also many cycle paths in Lincolnshire with sign posted routes and just round the corner from Lutton Garnsgate part of Sustrans' National Cycle Route 1 (Hull to Harwich) follows along our quiet country lanes. You never know you might find King John's lost treasure.
The town has many wonderful examples of original Georgian architecture preserved in part due to an almost comprehensive listing of buildings in and around the town which took part in the 60s including Garnsgate Hall itself which is Grade II* listed making it in the top 8% of buildings in the country and placing it alongside Westminster Bridge in terms of preservation status. Long Sutton takes part in the Britain in Bloom competition every year and often wins awards and nearby Spalding has an annual Flower Parade started in the 20s due in part to the glorious fields of flowers (especially tulips) that Lincolnshire is renowned for.
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| Wisbech a Fenland town is very close with the original inland port accounting for the building of many of the wealthy merchant houses along its Georgian fronted riverside including one of the best preserved Georgian National Trust properties: Peckover House. The port is still used for export today along with its recently redeveloped yacht harbour a perfect gateway to the wash and base from which to explore the waterways of the Fens. Wisbech is the birthplace of Octavia Hill an important worker in social reform and her birthplace is now a museum in her honour and Thomas Clarkson who campaigned for the abolishment of the slave trade and was instrumental in the passing of Slave Trade act of 1807 which stopped the British trade in slavery. Wisbech is also home to a Norman castle and has an annual
"Rose Fair" parade.
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 | Within a short drive is the historic town of Stamford with its traditional stone buildings, the City of Ely with its stunning Norman Cathedral and beautiful riverside and Huntingdon; birthplace of Oliver Cromwell. Cambridge's famous University City is just a bit further on but still within a comfortable distance to make it a day trip worth taking.
The North Norfolk coast again is within easy reach (45 min drive) including the beaches at Heacham (dog friendly) where the tide goes out for miles and Hunstanton with its Victorian promenade and Sealife Centre and the shallow Blue Flag beach making it a favourite for those with small children. The Castle and Priory ruins at Castle Acre are well worth a visit (a lovely walk which also takes in a watermill and several fords is available) and of course if you continue on: Cromer - famous for its delicious seafood.
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| If you're a fan of birds along with the nesting birds we have here within the grounds and nearby including egrets, swallows (in the stables), starlings (in the eves), plenty of wild ducks and many others.
There are several RSPB sanctuaries within a short drive and the WWT at Welney hold Swan feeds in Autumn/Winter as well as other nature discovery events throughout the year (such as bug hunts for the little ones).
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 | Fishing is amply catered for with the many dykes and drains holding both
freshwater and tidal species; day tickets are available for the "Hollands", as well as lake fishing in several locations. Further up the north Norfolk coast are many excellent sea fishing beaches and a sea fishing charter boat can be pre-arranged with lunch cooked onboard. There are also plenty of local game shoots nearby with pheasant, partridge and quail (seasonal) as well as pigeon (all year round). Golfers can play a round at one of several local courses and if you like to ride the area is perfect for hacking with several local stables offering excellent facilities.
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If you love animals we have chickens, ducks, dogs, cats, a rabbit and even a pony at the house but if your tastes are a bit more exotic there are plenty of farm parks nearby from the Rare Breeds Farm at Stow Bardolph to the Owl Centre at Baytree (near the Funfarm indoor play centre).
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Please click on the links to the left for more details on local places of interest (in approximate order of distance from the house). We have a large folder with many local walks from quiet leafy lanes to town centre history trails with audio guides you can upload onto your MP3 player; from circular nature walks around the wash to the ruins at Castle Acre.
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