House & garden highlights

Dorset

One of Britain's most majestic ruins, this 1,000-year-old castle rises above the Isle of Purbeck. Its partial destruction during the Civil War forms only a small part of its turbulent history.

Kingston Lacy

This elegant mansion is famous for its contents, which include the Spanish Room, hung in magnificent gilded leather, and a collection of Egyptian artefacts. The surrounding wooded park contains the Badbury Rings Iron Age hill-fort.

Gloucestershire

Dyrham Park

A spectacular William & Mary mansion nestling in an ancient deer park, Dyrham's lavish collections reflect the fashion for all things Dutch. Outside, there are elegant formal gardens and woodland to explore.

Hidcote Manor Garden

One of England's greatest gardens, Hidcote is an Arts & Crafts masterpiece. The garden consists of a series of outdoor rooms, each with its own character, and is famous for its rare plants and outstanding herbaceous borders.

Snowshill Manor

This Cotswold manor house contains Charles Paget Wade's singular collection of craftsmanship and design: everything from clocks to samurai armour. The Arts & Crafts-style garden is a mix of architectural features and bright colours.

Somerset

Barrington Court

An enchanting formal garden, Barrington Court is laid out in a series of walled 'rooms'. Espaliered fruit trees grow on the walls of the Kitchen Garden. The Tudor house is let to Stuart Interiors with antique furniture for sale.

Clevedon Court

This outstanding 14th-century manor house graces an earlier and original great hall and tower. A beautiful 18th-century terraced garden sparkles with water features and colourful planting.

Dunster Castle

Dramatically sited, there has been a castle at Dunster since at least Norman times. Highlights of the fine interior include the carved oak staircase. The garden is home to subtropical plants and the National Collection of Strawberry Trees.

Lytes Cary Manor

Home to medieval herbalist Henry Lyte, this charming manor house survives with a 14th-century chapel and Tudor great hall. Plants cultivated by Lyte still grow in the attractive hedged garden.

Montacute house

This glittering Elizabethan house is filled with historic treasures. The Long Gallery boasts Tudor and Elizabethan portraits from the National Portrait Gallery. Outside, the formal garden includes mixed borders, old roses and topiary.

Prior Park Landscape Garden

Prior Park is a beautiful 18th-century landscape garden. Set in a sweeping valley with magnificent views of Bath, it centres round the Palladian Bridge and three lakes. The garden leads on to the Bath Skyline, a 6-mile walk above the city.

Tintinhull Garden

This delightful formal garden features small pools, varied borders and secluded lawns, all neatly enclosed within walls and clipped hedges. There is also an attractive kitchen garden.

Tyntesfield

A Gothic Revival extravaganza, Tyntesfield survives intact with an unrivalled collection of Victorian decorative arts. It was saved for the nation in 2002, and visitors can see the ongoing project to conserve the house and its estate.

Wiltshire

The Courts Garden

A delightful English country garden, The Courts is one of Wiltshire's best-kept secrets. Planted with an imaginative use of colour to a backdrop of topiary, water features and garden ornaments, this is English garden style at its best.

Lacock Abbey

This country house, created out of a medieval abbey, was the home of a pioneer of photography William Henry Fox Talbot. The Fox Talbot Museum commemorates his achievements.

Mompesson House

Elegant Mompesson House is set in the peace and tranquillity of Salisbury's Cathedral Close. It has fine Georgian features inside and a charming walled garden outside. It was a location for the 1995 film 'Sense and Sensibility'.

Stourhead

Stourhead, with its classical temples set round a central lake and ever changing vistas, is one of the finest landscape gardens in the world. The house's magnificent interior includes Chippendale furniture. The wider estate offers many interesting walks.

The Temple of Flora at Stourhead in autumn sunshine

The National Trust

House & garden highlights