Castles and historic properties
Peacocks strut across manicured lawns, children shriek with delight as they try to find their way out of fiendishly difficult mazes, and well-kept gardens dazzle year-round at England’s many historic houses and well-preserved castles. Once inside, enthusiastic curators bring history to life with their expert knowledge and often funny insights into the lives, loves, and artefacts of generations of inhabitants. Castle breaks give you more chances of bumping into the present owners of an English castle, many of whom still live in wings of the properties. Just don’t forget to retrieve your children from that maze before you head home.
Picture Mr Darcy coming out of the lake
The magnificent house, gardens and deer park at Lyme Park was the filming location for the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice.
Location: Lyme Handley, Cheshire
Visit Derby's three National Trust treasures
Derby has a trio of National Trust treasures all within a 10 mile radius, so use the city as your base to explore Calke, Sudbury and Kedleston.
Location: Derby, Derbyshire
Take a tour round Stokesay Court
Stokesay Court was the setting for the mansions scenes in the film version of Ian McEwan's best selling novel, “Atonement”.
Location: Craven Arms, Shropshire
Spot Poldark at Chavenage House
Come and see 'Trenwith', the Poldark family home, actually 'played' by Chavenage House in Tetbury and you may spot Aiden Turner as Ross Poldark!
Location: Tetbury, Gloucestershire
Discover the real Downton Abbey
Re-enact your favourite scenes from the much-loved period drama at Highclere Castle before retiring to London Lodge, a Georgian Grade II-listed gatehouse on-site.
Location: Highclere, Hampshire
Have yourself a Famous Five adventure
Follow in the footsteps of Enid Blyton’s Famous Five with some castle capers and a seaside adventure by steam railway.
Location: Corfe Castle, Dorset
Visit a movie star house
Discover Bathsheba's 'Everdene Farm' from Far From the Madding Crowd in Dorset.
Location: Beaminster, Dorset
Spend the day playing at Lyme Park, House and Garden
Get transported back to Edwardian times, at the mansion and extensive grounds of Lyme Park.
Location: Disley, Cheshire
Discover ‘All Creatures Great and Small’ in Yorkshire
Tour Yorkshire writer and vet James Herriot's original home, recreated to look just as it did in the 1940s, in the picturesque town of Thirsk.
Location: Thirsk, North Yorkshire
Explore Rottingdean, the home of Rudyard Kipling
Step into the world of Rudyard Kipling by visiting his traditional English gardens in Rottingdean, near Brighton and Hove.
Location: Brighton & Hove, East Sussex
Go on location with Wolf Hall in Wiltshire
Following the BBC’s TV drama of Wolf Hall, go set-jetting to the Wiltshire TV locations used during filming.
Location: Wiltshire
Bring a masterpiece to life at Conisbrough Castle
This romantic medieval castle inspired Sir Walter Scott’s classic book Ivanhoe. Travel back nearly 1,000 years on a visit to the magnificent property.
Location: Doncaster, South Yorkshire
Follow the trail of the Brontë sisters in Birstall
Visit Red House and Oakwell Hall in Birstall, both frequented by the Brontë sisters and which featured in Charlotte Brontë’s famous novel Shirley.
Location: Birstall, West Yorkshire
Step into a Jane Austen novel at Hartland Abbey
Visit the historic house and filming locations of classic TV adaptations of Jane Austen and Rosamunde Pilcher novels, and step into the romance.
Location: Hartland, North Devon