Mother's Day @ Pollok House

[Image by Finlay McWalter]

For Mothers Day I thought it would be nice to take my family on a little trip to Pollok House as we hadn't been for years.

Both my parents are members of the National Trust for Scotland, I used to be but cancelled it after a couple of years as I never really used it, which I thought was fair enough. The little lady at the front entrance however didn't agree and quite abruptly told me so and started trying to badger me into re-signing up. I initially thought her sharp way of talking was a bit of a fun act but when my polite declining wasn't doing the trick and she kept going on, we all started getting a bit uncomfortable. It was only after I pointed out that as it was now quarter to four we really needed to press on and see the house that she let us by but she gave us a very disapproving look.

Our next hurdle to entering the house was the man taking tickets.  He let my folks through with their membership cards but. . .
then he too started hasslling us for not being a members. When my mum tried to talk to him, he jokingly, but rather inappropriately  told her to stop causing trouble, that she'd been dealt with and he was now dealing with us. We again pointed out that it was getting near to 4 o'clock and we really just wanted to get round the house before it shut at 5pm. To this he said,  "Ok, we'll do a deal then, buy one of my guide books for £3.50 and I'll let you all in for free."

"Ah," we all thought, "It was all just a jokey act after all, and due to the late time of the day, he's letting us in for a cheaper price, how kind." Despite the fact I already had the guide book from a previous visit, we paid up and finally were allowed to enter the house.

We enjoyed the visit, its quite odd inside, it doesn't ever really feel like someone really lived there. My favourite things were the paintings by William Blake in the small smoking room and the Grandfather clock in the hall. We also discovered on our wander around the house, that the entrance fee was actually FREE from Novemer until 31 March anyway, so we hadn't had to buy the guide book afterall?

After a look round the house we wandered down to the servants quarters where there are a few great little gift/ book shops and a new food shop opening soon. There is also a really nice cafe located in the original kitchen and it would definetly be a great place to stop off at on a nice long sunny walk in the park.

After a wee cup of tea and cake, we decided to leave. It was nearly 5pm and we knew the house would be getting ready to close. We retraced our steps back to the entrance lobby, following the EXIT signs, only to find that the lobby was now empty and the front door was locked. We were about to head back to the cafe when he heard a disconnected voice shouting angrily at us. We all looked around confused trying to work out where the voice was coming from and then through a little door came the same wee lady that had badgered us upon arrival and she was not happy with us now at all. We had been very bad people, sneaking off around the house afterhours, going where we should not. We all looked shocked at each other, were we really being told off as naughty children? We were asked why we had not gone out the correct exit and were explained too that fire doors are not for opening, they are for keeping out fires. I tried to point out that the door in question was not actually a fire door and my sister tried to point out that the corridor and the door we'd opened all had arrows on them which said EXIT this way but to no avail, we were in the wrong. Admonished we followed teacher back into the servants quarters where another group of visitors were cowering. We were shown down the corridor to a set of locked doors. Here we waited while our host went off to find the keys to kick us out.

Once outside the other visitors advised they too had had the same friendly experiences as us and admitted they'd been going out the same exit we had, but heard us being shouted at and had scarpered. It was quite pleasant chatting about it all and nice to know it wasn't just us that had created any ire.

All in all it was quite a mixed day. I'd recommend a visit to the house, especially over the next week while its still free. Some of the paintings are great, though the whole thing is proably a bit dry for small kids. The shops and the cafe are great and while our experience with the lady at the front door was a little uncomfortable, it did make our day memorable. My only worry is that not everyone will find it as amusing as we did and people might get put off going back which would be a shame as there are some really interesting things to see. Anyone else had any fun experiences with friendly staff?

Link to our previous post about a visit to the house.
ps - a range of events are happening at the house over next few months. Check the calendar for details.