By Lyn Funnell
The National Trust, which was founded in 1895, owns over 500 houses, castles, gardens, parks and nature reserves.
Most properties charge an entrance fee, but Members have free entry.
Sheffield Park and Garden, near Haywards Heath, Sussex, dates back to 1086 and is now owned by the National Trust.
It has many events there and we went to one of them on Saturday.
Walking with The Snowman follows a trail around the Gardens. There are 12 beautiful Snowman sculptures, each one depicting a verse from The 12 Days of Christmas.
There are also games for children to play and Snowman scenes everywhere.
As you walk towards the entrance, there is a fairground and the traditional fairground smells waft in the air.
Parking can be very muddy but the trail is dry.
Apart from the Snowmen, there is a lot to see, interesting trees and plants, lakes, ducks, geese, swans, waterfalls, and more.
The Snowman theme tune was playing everywhere, echoing out of trees.
There are loos and a small café halfway round, but they only take cash.
Entrance times are staggered, which works well as it avoids crowded areas and everything keeps moving smoothly, with no rush.
Dogs are welcome.
The Snowman was expected to arrive in person and he turned up in the back of a buggy to the delight of everyone!
Everyone queued patiently to have their photo taken with him.
After that, we went back to our car and we were surprised to find out that we’d been strolling round the Gardens for nearly three hours!
We’d all enjoyed our afternoon and we were really impressed by the quality of the Snowman sculptures.
Walking with The Snowman is on at Sheffield Park Gardens until the 12th January.
nationaltrust.org.uk/sheffieldpark
