Review: Fyne Court National Trust Nature Reserve, Somerset

Last month we headed down to Somerset for a weekend of glamping at Somerset Yurts. Read my full blog review on our amazing family weekend away here.

Whilst in Somerset we headed over to Fyne Court for the day. Fyne Court is a National Trust nature reserve in Broomfield, Somerset.

We picked up an information leaflet when we arrived and I was fascinated to learn about the history of Fyne Court.

Belonging to the Crosse family, it was a large English country house. Sadly the main building burnt down in a fire in 1984 believed to have started when a housemaid left a candle unattended that she’d been using to heat curling tongs. Thankfully no-one was hurt, but most of the building was damaged beyond repair.

Andrew Crosse was very much a man of mystery. Most of the records outlining the family history were destroyed, but what we do know about him is intriguing. Andrew Crosse was a pioneer in the field of electricity and he conducted a series of experiments with electricity, although some of them got him into trouble. According to the National Trust website, Andrew Crosse was a highly intelligent man whose fascination with electricity ignited when he attended a lecture on the force. He began experimenting by giving electric shocks to unsuspecting friends!

Later when Andrew graduated from Oxford University he returned to Fyne Court and took his experiments further. He strung up a third of a mile of copper wire in the grounds and connected it to equipment in the music room. Voltage would build up when there was fog, heavy rain or thunder and the conducting equipment would begin sparking and flashing, and loud bangs would shake the music room!

Of course back then there was little information about electricity and locals began to question what Andrew Crosse was doing. They thought he was trying to attract storms. As such he became known as ‘The Wizard of Broomfield’ and the ‘Thunder and Lightning Man’.

As we walked around Fyne Court and stood on the lawn in the courtyard it’s easy to imagine the scale of the original house where the building once stood. You can still see the old music room, as well as the library and some outbuildings.

Fyne Court offers its visitors plenty to keep them busy. It’s surrounded by a large country estate of woodland, ponds and meadows. Within the grounds is also a folly and boathouse.

Fyne Court also has three fantastic walks; Drove Road, Great and Marrow Hills, Staple Plain and Woodland Hill. You can read more about these walks here. We took the Woodland Hill walk which offered amazing views and the chance to encounter some native wildlife.

There’s also plenty of chances for children to embrace natural play. With lots of trees to climb, fallen logs to explore and ponds to dip. Children can also make dens and go in search of the sky glade which we came across on our walk.

At the top of the pink route children can show off their musical skills and enjoy the wooden xylophone!

We decided to attempt to make some small rafts using fallen sticks and long grass to float down the stream. Our girls had lots of fun making their rafts although they sadly weren’t very good at floating down the stream!

We had a wonderful day out at Fyne Court. It’s free to explore, but you do need to pay for the car park using the pay and display machine.

I’d definitely return to Fyne Court again. It was a fun, educational and enjoyable family day out!