Mount Stewart - National Trust. My favourite bits.

We took our grandson for a visit last week and whilst he was very well behaved, he was shorter than the ropes and would just wander into the rooms to take a look, so I had to keep a very close eye on him, while Peter talked to the guides.

Our grandson was well entertained though and I got some time to wander round freely while he explored with grandad and look at parts of the house I was interested in.

Mount Stewart is a National Trust Property in County Down on the shores of Strangford Lough. It underwent a three year £8 million restoration. Sadly after Storm Eowyn in January 2025, the gardens and grounds suffered extensive damage, so we didn't get to explore all of it.

I loved the openness of the rooms. You could only walk around the outside, but you felt you were actually in the room rather than just stood in the doorway peering in.

These panels really caught my attention.

I do love a good bit of colourful pottery.

I love a decorated table, sadly our cat just swipes things off.

It did feel like some of the rooms were a bit packed. I'd hate all the dusting.

The ceiling roses and the chandeliers were beautiful, again though, all that dusting.

Although our modern triple glazed windows don't call for shutters, I'd love to have some in our house.

Love the warm colours in this room. I used to rent a room in a former stately home with a sink in the corner and high ceilings, loved the huge windows, but it was bloody cold in the winter and most of the year.

You could have hours of fun playing hide and seek.

More dusting.

I love writing and having a writing desk, we're moving our under the window next week.

Tea corner in the bedroom. I have a bright green tea set, I think I'm going to use it in the dining room.

Huge bathroom, can imagine this room would have been cold, although it does look like there was a fire place. The toilet is hidden in a large chest far right.

The house was full of family portraits, this one caught my attention.

We'll visit again on our next trip and hopefully get to explore the grounds a bit more.

Mount Stewart - National Trust. A day out with our Grandson

We've had both English Heritage and National Trust memberships over the years, but this is the first time we've had both at the same time. Where we live we have a couple of both organisations running places near us. English Heritage suited us better when the children were smaller and we used it a lot when we were on holiday. National Trust has suited us better since we moved back to the UK what with having a dog, but now we find that with having a camper van and travelling a bit further, that we're actually using both some membership of the two was a logical decision and we're in credit with both within a couple of months of joining having visited numerous places far and wide already.

We're currently in Northern Ireland visiting family and took our Grandson out for the day. An hours drive away on the edge of Strangford Loch is Mount Stewart, a 19th century house and gardens in County Down.

There was so much to see and do at the house. Our 3 yo grandson was fully entertained for the entire visit from the tea rooms where he could do some colouring in where he was able to eat his packed lunch while we had coffee, sandwiches and cakes to exploring the house and being given little challenges by the staff to find certain objects in each room, and found the hidden toilet hysterical, to running around the grounds, watching the swans on the lake, hands on experience in the look out by the car park before we even entered the grounds, the nature woodland play area to buying new bed time books in the second hand book store. He even got to see his favourite tele handler outside the main house and was fascinated with the number of fallen trees after storm Éowyn. 

I'll do a follow up next week of the rest of the house and grounds and the things I go to look at when Peter wasn't reading all the information boards and I got a chance to take photos without worrying about a 3 yo slipping under the ropes and touching things.