From a medieval manor house to a former hunting ground for Henry VIII – here are five National Trust locations you can visit that are around an hour's drive from south east London.
With May set to have three long Bank Holiday weekends, some of you may be in search of things to do during your time off.
The National Trust has a number of properties from stately homes, old woodlands, landscaped gardens, castles and more, with many of them being within driving distance of south east London.
We’ve rounded up five National Trust locations you should visit that are all roughly an hour's drive away from south east London.
Here are five National Trust places you should visit:
Knole
Once the former hunting grounds for King Henry VIII, with its roaming deer and 600-year-old estate, Knole has plenty of things to see and do both indoors and outdoors.
Located in Sevenoaks in the Kent countryside, it has plenty of scenic places to picnic and walk.
Dogs are also welcome, provided they are kept on leads due to the wild deer.
Alongside the woodland walks, orangery and courtyards, Knole also has a grand estate with beautiful showrooms and a large collection of paintings.
For the literary buffs, Knole has plenty of links to writers and authors. Most famously, Knole was the setting for Orlando by Virginia Woolf.
It’s roughly an hour’s drive from south east London via the A20 and the M25, and nearby is Sevenoaks high street with its array of shops and restaurants.
If you’d rather take public transport, Knole is located a 20-minute walk from Sevenoaks train station, with a bus service available from Sevenoaks town centre.
Ightham Mote
Dating back almost 700 years, Ightham Mote is one of England’s oldest surviving medieval manors and has had several owners over the many years since the 1340s.
The manor house was built from Kentish ragstone and Wealden oaks, and on entering it feels like stepping back in time with its knight’s armour and wood panelled walls.
Outside the mote the 14-acre estate has lots of places to explore, including pleasure grounds, an orchard, lakes and woodland areas.
Ightham Mote is located in the heart of the Kent countryside, an hour's drive from south east London via the A20 and M20.
If travelling by train the nearest stations are Hildenborough and Sevenoaks train stations, which are both accessible from London Bridge and London Charing Cross.
Plus, if you show your train ticket in the Mote Café you can receive a free cup of tea or filter coffee.
Chartwell
Formerly the home of Winston Churchill, Chartwell has been set out to look just as it would have done in the 1930s when the family was in residence.
The house features an array of rooms that have been preserved including Churchill’s bedroom, drawing room, library and study.
The house also features exhibitions covering the life of Churchill and his time as Prime Minister during WWII.
The grounds have a mix of gardens, a large lake and woodland trails, offering plenty of places to walk, explore and stop for a picnic on a nice day.
Some highlights you should see include the formal rose garden designed by Lady Churchill, the walled garden which is a working kitchen garden, and the playhouse designed for Churchill’s youngest daughter Mary.
The gardens also feature a large display of Churchill’s paintings and artwork in his studio space, giving a glimpse into Churchill’s artistic pursuits.
Chartwell is located near the village of Westerham, an hour's drive from south east London via the A20 and M25.
If travelling by train, the nearest station to Chartwell is Edenbridge, which is four miles away from the house itself.
Emmets Garden
If you love flowers and beautiful gardens, Emmets Garden is somewhere you need to visit.
Emmets Garden was the work of banker and plantsman Frederic Lubbock, who purchased the property in 1893.
The 6-acre estate features a number of landscaped gardens and woodland trails to explore, including a rose garden, a tulip meadow with up to 7,000 bulbs, and the woodland area which is teeming with bluebells during May.
Dogs are also welcome to Emmets Garden, with lots of open spaces and woodland walks for your four-legged friend to explore.
Emmets Garden is located in Sevenoaks, an hour’s drive from south east London via the A20 and M25.
For anyone travelling by train the nearest stations to Emmets Garden are Sevenoaks and Penhurt stations, with a taxi rank available outside Sevenoaks station.
Osterley Park and House
Originally built in the 1570s, Osterley House is known as one of the “finest and most complete” interiors by Robert Adam still in existence.
The neo-classical mansion, with its opulent entrance hall and tapestry room, has served as a filming location for Netflix’s The Crown in more recent years.
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Located in Hounslow, Osterley Park still features a large parkland with a formal garden dating back to the 18th century.
You can also see the Garden House, which was originally built in 1780 by Robert Adam.
Osterley Park is roughly an hour and a half drive from south east London via the A205, and can also be reached by train from Isleworth station which is a mile and a half walk away from Osterley Park.
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