Stately home itinerary: 10 NT flagships

The National Trust owns over 300 historic houses, but ten in particular have defined British country-house tourism — for the architecture, the gardens, the family history or the sheer scale. We've sequenced them as a two-week tour starting in the south and ending in the north of England, but they work equally well as individual day trips.

Places in this guide

★ Iconic📷 3♡

Stately homes · East Midlands

Chatsworth House

Britain's most-visited stately home — seat of the Devonshires since 1549, home of the Devonshire Collection.

Grade I↗ chatsworth.org

📷 3♡

Historic houses · East of England

Holkham Hall

Holkham Hall ( or ) is an 18th-century country house near the village of Holkham, Norfolk, England, constructed in the Neo-Palladian style for Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester (of the fifth creation

↗ holkham.co.uk

📷 3♡

Gardens · Yorkshire & the Humber

Castle Howard

Castle Howard — historic house museum.

Grade I↗ castlehoward.co.uk

📷 5♡

Natural landmarks · London

Chartwell

Chartwell — a other in england-london, United Kingdom.

↗ nationaltrust.org.uk

📷 3♡

UNESCO World Heritage · West Midlands

Blenheim Palace

Blenheim Palace — country house near Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England, UK.

↗ blenheimpalace.com

★ Iconic📷 10♡

Gardens · South East England

Sissinghurst Castle Garden

Vita Sackville-West's 1930s garden in Kent — the most-imitated White Garden in Britain.

Grade I↗ nationaltrust.org.uk

📷 5♡

Palaces · London

Hampton Court Palace

Hampton Court Palace — historic royal palace in Richmond, Greater London.

↗ hrp.org.uk

📷 5♡

Historic houses · South East England

Longleat

Longleat — a Grade I-listed historic house in england-south-east, United Kingdom.

Grade I↗ longleat.co.uk

📷 3♡

Abbeys & priories · East of England

Woburn Abbey

Woburn Abbey (), occupying the east of the village of Woburn, Bedfordshire, England, is a country house, the family seat of the Duke of Bedford. Although it is still a family home to the current duke,