Stunning country estates you can visit near Greater Manchester

From enjoying beautifully kept gardens to spotting wild deer - here are some of the fine stately homes and estates in and around the region

You can't beat a nice stroll through the grounds of a magnificent country estate or stately home. Whether it is deer spotting in rugged open grounds, walking through a well kept garden, or enjoying fine antiques inside a beautifully decorated house, there are plenty of estates you can visit.

And thankfully living in Greater Manchester we are blessed with a number of fantastic grand houses on our doorstep.

They range from the popular Dunham Massey with its ancient deer park, Lyme Park with its 1,300 acre estate and Arley Hall which is familiar to many a being a filming location for TV show Peaky Blinders.

READ MORE: Things to do in Manchester from the National Football Museum to Heaton Park

Here are nine statley home in and around Greater Manchester than you can visit.

Heaton Hall, Manchester

The Grade I listed Heaton Hall, inside Heaton Park in Prestwich, has been called 'the finest house of its period in Lancashire'.

The state rooms include a library, the music room, dining room and a rather rare Etruscan room.

The rooms were exquisitely finished by the finest artists and craftsmen of the period, with most of the furnishings and mahogany doors being made by Gillow's of Lancashire.

The hall is sometimes open to the public for tours. For more information visit the Friends of Heaton Hall Facebook group.

And of course, as well as the country house, there are acres of park to explore and even a petting farm.

Dunham Massey, Trafford

Dunham Massey is popular to visitors all year round due to its large and thriving ancient deer park.

And as well as the resident herd of fallow deer; you may also glimpse other wildlife including owls and woodpeckers.

The park and gardens are the ideal place to enjoy the crisp clear days of winter and you can also enjoy one of Britain’s finest winter gardens.

There is also the grand hall which you can visit. The moated hall, built in 1616, was used as a military hospital during the First World War.

The National Trust hall and grounds are open to the public and are a popular tourist attraction, with 340,000 visitors in 2014.

Information on prices and visiting can be found here.

Lyme Park, Disley

Lyme Park is a National Trust-owned site in Disley which consists of a mansion, gardens and deer park.

The 1,300 acre estate is open to the public and has a medieval herd of red deer offers fantastic walks and stunning views.

Lyme Park and hall have been used in several films and television programmes.

The exterior of the hall was used as Pemberley, the seat of Mr Darcy, in the 1995 BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.

Information on prices and visiting can be found here.

Adlington Hall, Cheshire

Adlington Hall and gardens sits on the outskirts of Poynton in Cheshire.

The site has been home to the Leigh family for the past 700 years and was occupied by Parliamentary forces during the Civil War.

During the 1740s, Charles Legh transformed Adlington from a medium-sized Tudor manor into a large Georgian house. He built a new West Wing, including a ballroom occupying the full length of the first floor.

On public open days, you can wander around our gardens and enjoy the tranquil atmosphere.

Information on when you can visit can be found here.

Tatton Park, Cheshire

Located in 1,000 acres of beautiful deer park, the former Egerton family home is open for the public to explore.

Guests are able to enjoy The Tudor Old Hall, wander through huge gardens and take the kids to the working Farm.

You can also stroll through the deer park to try and spot the red deer and fallow deer, of which there are 400 breeding stock.

Tatton Park was property of the Egerton family for nearly 400 years before it was bequeathed to the National Trust in 1958.

Information on prices and visiting can be found here.

Tabley House, Cheshire

This fine Palladian house was built in 1761 for the Leicester family, who lived at Tabley for 700 years.

It houses a number of attractions including a collection of English paintings and furniture which was crafted by the likes of Gillow, Bullock and Chippendale.

There are also impressive grounds and woodland to explore in the estate.

Information on prices and visiting can be found here.

Arley Hall, Cheshire

The Grade II listed building and adjacent chapel sits in impressive formal gardens close to the village of Arley.

The Hall is an impressive example of a Victorian country house built in the Elizabethan style.

It may also be familiar to many Peaky Blinders fans as many scenes from the show were shot here.

Information on prices and visiting can be found here.

Capesthorne Hall, Cheshire

Capesthorne Hall is a country house near the village of Siddington. The present house, built between 1719 and 1732, replaced an earlier building which stood on the site of the column in the park.

The estate contains formal gardens, parkland, small lakes and wooded areas.

Information on prices and visiting can be found here.

Gawthorpe Hall, Burnley

Known as the ‘Downton of the North’, Gawthorpe Hall was redesigned in the 1850s by Sir Charles Barry, designer of the Houses of Parliament and the ‘real’ Downton Abbey, Highclere Castle.

On the outskirts of Burnley, it houses the North West’s largest collection of portraits on loan from the National Portrait Gallery.

There is also a hall, gardens and woodland to visit.

Information on prices and visiting can be found here.