Get ready to leave the 21st century

Who needs the Tardis when you can go back in time just by going up the road? Zeena Lemon steps into the past

The peace and tranquillity is the first thing that hits you as you get out of the car at the 1700 acres of farmland, parks and woods that make up the Brockhampton estate. How could anyone not relax in a place so blessed with beauty and charm?

Walking round the moated 14th century manor house is another treat. Everything is interactive--no ropes block the way. We touched the pewter plates in the great hall, scaled the old wooden staircase, looked up the chimney, pretended to prick our fingers on the spinning wheel in the parlour and wandered in and out of the bedroom, imagining what it would have been like to live all those years ago.

Outside, we walked through the charming timber-framed gatehouse and ran in and around the amazing Norman ruined chapel, thought to have been built in 1180.

It's now 60 years since Colonel John Talbot Lutley bequeathed the estate to the National Trust, which has preserved it as a perfect example of an English country estate, and to mark that anniversary there's a new Lutley room to explore. It recreates Colonel Lutley's estate office, with historical documents to read, estate maps to pore over and even a working 1940s Bakelite radio tuned to the BBC World Service. It's as if the Colonel has just stepped out for a moment and will return at any minute.

In addition to the house and estate there is the Old Apple Store Tea Rooms, a Flavours of Herefordshire finalist last year commended for its use of local, handmade produce, much of it prepared on the estate by farm tenants. There is also a newly refurbished shop, The Granary, which sells many locally produced crafts, and a nursery rhyme trail which is great fun for children.

The great thing about a day out on the Brockhampton Estate is that it's so near Worcester, yet a million miles away from modern city life.

How to get there

By car: From St John's Worcester, take the A44 (signed Leominster, Bromyard) through Broadwas to Brockhampton. The journey takes about 17 minutes.

By train: The nearest train stations are in Worcester (12 miles), Malvern (10 miles).