Be wowed by the Tudor Great Hall with its fantastic furniture, arms, armour, tapestries and the carved oak screen, a rare survivor from the 1500s. History springs to life in the Hesketh’s dining room, its food-laden table, lit candles and ‘fire in the hearth’ waiting to welcome the family’s dinner guests.

And did Shakespeare spend a short time here in his youth? There’s reasonable evidence to suggest that he could once have known Rufford’s Great Hall for a few months whilst still in his teens. Ask about the evidence and decide for yourself!

Then relax as you stroll through Rufford’s Victorian and Edwardian gardens – and remember you’re only a few feet (or metres) above sea level – making Rufford one of the lowest-lying National Trust gardens in England.