Tickets are released every Friday for the following week, for half hour arrival time slots. I've seen quite a few people saying they've struggled to get a slot, but thankfully I haven't had that problem.
We knew the mill would be closed but were happy to walk around the gardens. F also has a 'Visitor Passport', (you pay for stickers of various National Trust places and then when visiting a new property, the shop staff will stamp and date it for you), which we forgot to take when we visited a few years ago. So we were hoping to get that stamped, but unfortunately neither of the shops were open.
Arrival was smooth, as is usual for National Trust properties these days: we gave our name at the gate, it was checked on the list, and then we found somewhere to park. At the entrance we then showed our membership cards and were given details of what was open and where we could find everything. The car park and entrance had had a bit of a makeover since my last visit so it felt a bit disorienting at first.
We were faced with two paths initially, one to the gardens, one to the mill. We opted for the gardens first as the cafe there was open for takeaway and Daddy wanted a coffee.
At the entrance to the gardens our names were again checked against a list. The upper gardens featured a large grassy area suitable for picnics, a beautiful walled garden, toilets, the cafe and an abundance of colourful flowers. The upper gardens were generally free flow, with the exception of the in/out routes for the cafe, which offered sandwiches, cakes, and drinks, with a few tables outside. There was also a window selling Cheshire Farm Ice Cream.
To access the lower gardens, we had to follow a one way system down a very steep path, though not quite as steep as the path back up again. There were some very sharp drops and I was slightly surprised that there wasn't a fence alongside the whole path, so be sure to hold onto your little ones (and bigger ones if they're as clumsy as F). Once we got down to the bottom, there was another grassy area perfect for picnicking, and you could also see the river and the mill (though you can't access the mill from here).
After we'd finished exploring the gardens we took the path to the mill. Here there were toilets available, and the 'ice cream parlour' that was essentially takeaway ice cream with a couple of picnic benches outside. You could also see the water wheel from the outside, and access various walks around the estate, ranging from 20 minutes to 2.5 hours. Most of these are not suitable for pushchairs, and can get quite muddy so sensible footwear is advised.
Hand sanitiser was available in various locations and there were toilets in both the upper gardens and near the mill. I also saw the tables outside the cafe being cleaned regularly. It didn't feel overly busy and we had no trouble social distancing for the most part.
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