Ightham Mote - Kent

Ightham Mote House & Garden

Location: Mote Road, Ivy Hatch, Sevenoaks, Kent, TN15 0NT

Ightham Mote is one of the oldest medieval manor houses to survive in England. It had a number of owners, who made a series of alterations and additions throughout the centuries.

The origins of the house date from circa 1340–1360 The earliest recorded owner is Sir Thomas Cawne, who fought in France with Edward the Black Prince and who acquired the Mote in the 1360s

Upon his death it was passed to his son Robert the house passed by the marriage of Robert’s daughter

Alice to Nicholas Haute and their descendants, their grandson Richard Haute being Sheriff of Kent in the late 15th century. It was then purchased in 1521 by the courtier Sir Richard Clement (d.1538).[1] In 1591, Sir William Selby bought the estate.

For visiting information, see more on the National Trust website

At the time of writing there are extensive works on the entrance and parking area. Don't just park in the first car park you come to.

Parking fee is £3.50 (11/12/23)

There is a very good café with a large seating area in and out.

Rousham House & Garden - Oxford

Rousham House & Garden

Location: Rousham, North Oxford

The Rousham and its landscape garden should be a place of pilgrimage for students of the work of William Kent (1685-1748). 

Rousham represents the first phase of English landscape design and remains almost as Kent
left it, one of the few gardens of this date to have escaped alteration, with many features which delighted eighteenth century visitors to Rousham still in situ, such as the ponds and cascades in Venus’s Vale, the Cold Bath, and seven arched Praeneste, Townsend’s Building, the Temple of the Mill, and, on the skyline, a sham ruin known as the ‘Eyecatcher’ 

The Surrey Sculpture Park

 The Surrey Sculpture Park

The Sculpture Park is Britain's most eclectic & atmospheric sculpture exhibition, and has been delighting visitors for over 15 years. With over 300 renowned and emerging artists. Showcasing over 800 pieces of work. The works are primarily situated outdoors, over a 2 mile woodland trail. There is also a smaller indoor gallery on-site at the park with more work available to view. Most of the collection is available to buy, and collectors travel from all corners of the globe all year round to view our unique and stunning collection of works.

All year round exhibition

The collection is sited within ten acres of stunning arboretum and wildlife inhabited water gardens which have been developed with a series of landscaping projects and the introduction of thousands of new plants, bulbs and specimen trees.

The Sculpture Park

You will need to book tickets which can be done online or at the desk.

There is limited parking space outside the park but it is possible to park at the pub opposite.
Bell & The Dragon which by the way is a very nice pub

Would recommend wearing "walking" shoes as the ground can be uneven in places and slippery when wet.