Visit Leighton Hall with our Great Savings Guide

Enjoy a fascinating day of family fun at Leighton Hall in Lancashire with our Great Savings Guide

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It’s not often, when visiting a historic house, that you’re explicitly instructed “DO walk on the grass”, “DO sit on the furniture”, and “please DO play the Steinway”. It’s also not often that the guide giving these instructions turns out to live there. When Susan Reynolds, High Sheriff of Lancashire - owner, resident, and occasional guide of Leighton Hall - describes it as “a glorified farmhouse”, she’s being just a tad modest. I’ve yet to see a farmhouse with an array of bells to summon its staff, each ringing a different tone to aid identification.

As you descend the driveway towards this Grade II* listed building, surrounded by grazing sheep among its 1,500-acre farm and woodland estate, you can see why it’s become popular as a film set for period productions.

There’s been a building on the site of Leighton Hall, a short jaunt from Morecambe, since 1246. Originally Norman, the Hall was ransacked during the Jacobite revolution and rebuilt in Georgian style. It changed hands a few times - each new owner adding a conservatory here, a wing there, and even a whole new Gothic facade - until it finally passed to the Gillow family (of furniture-making fame), where it remains today.

But a visit to Leighton Hall is really a three-in-one treat (four, if you include the attractively rustic tearoom and shop).

Firstly, there are the grounds - an engaging mix of formal areas and woodland - small enough to explore easily, but with plenty of fascinating variation. There are pretty bordered lawns, a colourful walled garden, a forest trail with secluded nooks and scenic viewpoints, a herb pavilion, sculptures, insect hotels, bee corners, a woodland playground, and a children’s maze that begs to be run around - more than enough to while away an afternoon being as tranquil or busy as you like.

Secondly, an entertaining falconry display is given most days on the expansive lawn in front of the Hall. Birds of prey swoop down from the walls of the Hall, eyeing visitors as they skim past, and handler Lindsay Bevan of Northern Sky Falconry is full of informative tidbits - like the bird-related origins of phrases such as ‘fed up’ and ‘under the thumb’.

And lastly, there’s the Hall itself. Tours are guided, and if you’re lucky enough to land Susan as yours, you’ll benefit from first-hand reminiscences of the house and the relatives who live on the walls. It’s fascinating to view the house simultaneously as a historic building and a functioning family home. Unique pieces of bespoke Gillow furniture sit alongside contemporary family photos and historically collected art. The wood-panelled dining room is grandly impressive, but also homely, and the private chapel and music room, complete with aforementioned concert piano, give the lie to the modest ‘farmhouse’ claim.

Being a lived-in home, this was one of the warmest and most accessible historic houses I’ve visited. You feel less like a passing tourist and more like a welcome guest who’s been loaned the use of the grounds for an afternoon.

The Hall’s open season may soon be drawing to a close for winter, but DO add it to your destination wish-list for next year, when the grass is once again open for visitors to walk upon.

Members receive a 50% discount on general admission to Leighton Hall with the Great Savings Guide. Find out more here. 

Nearest Club Campsites: Meathop Fell, Kendal, Blackpool South Club Campsites

Please visit camc.com/greatsavingsguide for vouchers, discount codes and pre-booking where relevant, as well as terms and conditions for all offers. Please check site and attraction opening dates and times before visiting/travelling.