Visiting Knole this spring

Knole's exterior, a large 400 year old stone building stretches across the image, with three floors, chimneys and a gatehouse. Trees are positioned either side and parkland is in the foreground — Knole starts to come back to life in the spring

A visitor who's using a crutch in the ballroom at Knole — Visitors in the Ballroom at Knole

Image of a long gallery with dark wood paneled walls lined with large portraits of royal and historic figures including James I, and rich red upholstered chairs — A portrait of King James I presides over Knole's Leicester Gallery

With the promise of warmer weather and longer days ahead, we're full of the joys of spring. We're also getting ready to reopen more so you can enjoy a traditional Knole experience again. We hope you enjoy your visit and make the most of the season.

PLEASE NOTE: There may be some disruption to your visit due to works being carried out by South East Water to install a new water main in Knole Park. Find out more here.

Woman removing child's wellies from the back of a car

Pre-book a car parking space at Knole

The car park is reserved for National Trust members and paying visitors to Knole House. Everyone must pre-book. Please do not drive to Knole unless you have pre-booked.

Knole opening hours

The National Trust facilities at Knole are open every day from 10am - 5pm. Knole Park is open from dawn to dusk for pedestrians. National Trust staff will be on duty at the gatebox from 10am-5pm.

The orangery at Knole — Knole's Orangery is a beautiful space to explore

What to expect at Knole this spring

Knole House is open

Over the winter months, the House and Collections team have been working hard to complete their essential work and conservation cleaning tasks. Following the lifting of lockdown restrictions, Knole House, including the showrooms, the Royal Oak Foundation Conservation Studio, the Orangery, shop and bookshop have reopened. Please check the opening times section of the website for specific days and times.

A grand staircase richly decorated with painted walls displaying the Five Senses, Seven Virtues & Four Ages of Man, with a large carved wooden leopard sitting on top of a stairpost — The mighty leopard - the Sackville's symbol - appears throughout Knole, especially in the Great Staircase

As visitors experienced last autumn when we reopened the house, visiting Knole is still slightly different at the moment as we have changes in place to keep everyone safe. You can read more about visiting the house below.

A sumptuous four-poster bed hung with golden coloured drapes sits in a plush bedroom with tapestries on the wall, Stuart era chairs, portrait over a fireplace and silver mirrors on the walls

Plan a visit to Knole House again

Knole's showrooms are open again. Find out what a visit looks like due to the changes we've made to keep everyone safe at this time.

The Royal Oak Foundation Conservation Studio is open

Every Wednesday to Saturday from 11am-4pm, you can also visit the Royal Oak Foundation Conservation Studio at Knole. Located in the barn by the Brewhouse Café, call in to see what projects are currently underway. As one of two conservation studios with the National Trust, there's always something interesting to see and a volunteer will be on hand to let you know what's happening. You can also take a peek into the conservation store to see how we store precious objects.

Conservators at work in Knole, Kent — Conservators at work at Knole, Kent

We are limiting the number of visitors in the foyer at present to 6 people to keep everyone safe. Please wear a face covering and use the hand sanitiser before entering.

A table set with artists' materials including paints, pigments and a palette and palette knife

Discover The Royal Oak Foundation Conservation Studio at Knole

Take a look inside The Royal Oak Foundation Conservation Studio at Knole and see conservation in action on objects from National Trust properties around the UK. Visit their website to find out more about when the studio is open.

As with visiting the showrooms at Knole, once you are at Knole you can visit the conservation studio at anytime. If you are intending to drive to Knole and use the National Trust car park, you will need to pre-book tickets per person, as if you're visiting the house. Non-members will also need to pay £5 for parking. If you only wish to visit the Royal Oak Foundation Conservation Studio and you aren't a National Trust member, you may prefer to park in the multi-storey car park in Sevenoaks and walk through Webb's Alley into Knole Park.

The new gabled roof put in place in 2016 at the barn, Knole, Kent — Visit the Royal Oak Foundation Conservation Studio at Knole

The car park

Open daily 10am-5pm

The car park is reserved for National Trust members and paying visitors to the house. Everyone will need to pre-book (per person) and there will be an additional £5 charge for parking for non-members. Non-members will no longer be able to just book just a car parking space.

Please do not drive to Knole unless you have pre-booked a car parking space as you will not be able to use the car park. Entry will be on a timed ticket basis to avoid congestion at the main entrance.

At the discretion of our team at the Gatebox, on weekdays it may not always be necessary to pre-book. To guarantee entry, we recommend you do.

Take a virtual tour of Knole

Elaborate grey pannelled walls and a huge detailed marble fireplace line the walls alongside portraits of the Sackville family. In the middle of the room are piece of gilded furniture

The collection at Knole

Take a virtual tour through Knole's showrooms to see one of the rarest collections of Stuart royal furniture, paintings, objects and textiles.

A long, narrow attic room stretches ahead, with wooden floorboards, a window at the far end, patched walls and trunks and chairs lined up against one side wall

The attics at Knole

Take a virtual tour and discover the fascinating stories hidden in Knole’s attics, including furniture, graffiti and witchmarks.

Eddy Sackville West's bedroom in the Gatehouse Tower, including brass bedstead with white counterpane, blue armchair, blue shelves filled with books, tapestries and pictures on the walls

The Gatehouse Tower at Knole

Take a virtual tour of the Gatehouse Tower, including climbing the spiral staircase for panoramic views over the medieval parkland.

Be aware of local parking restrictions

In November 2020, Kent County Council introduced local parking restrictions in residential and side roads around Knole Park. Officers are also patrolling these roads at weekends issuing fines. This is in response to dangerous and obstructive parking by a number of visitors to Knole Park. The decision has been made by the local authority following complaints from Sevenoaks residents. Please park considerately to local residents.

Only planning on visiting Knole Park?

If you're a non-member who is only planning on visiting Knole Park, we recommend you park in the multi-storey car park in Sevenoaks. The sat nav post code is TN13 1LW. Follow the AA signage from the motorway and all major routes that lead to Sevenoaks, then look out for local signage to the town centre car park. Access to Knole Park is a short walk from here down Webb's Alley.

Image of a large expanse of green grass with a statue in the middle against the backdrop of Knole's ragstone walls, interspersed with windows, towers and decorative gables — Green Court is the largest of the courtyards at Knole

The shop

The shop at Knole is open. Come in to browse the spring ranges, Knole souvenirs, National Trust food and drink items and goods made by local craftspeople. We've plenty of pocket money toys, picnic rugs, flasks, toys and fashion items for the summer months, as well as many favourites such as jams, biscuits and blankets.

The bookshop at Knole

The bookshop is open. Please come in and browse the shelves daily from 11am-5pm. There's a dedicated children's section, books by authors connected to Knole and many popular National Trust publications.

The Brewhouse Café

The Brewhouse Café, Rooftop Terrace and picnic area are open. The café is offering a limited take-away service from 10am to 5pm (the courtyard gates will be closed at 4.30pm so the last few visitors can be served). You can expect to find sandwiches, soup, sausage rolls, cakes, bakes and pre-packaged goods on offer. Please observe the social distancing measures we have put in place and use the hand sanitiser outside before entering.

At present, the indoor seating area at Knole remains closed. The space is not condusive to social distancing guidelines and the one way route we have in place.

Toilets

Toilet facilities are open, including disabled toilets and baby-changing facilities in the Royal Oak Foundation Conservation Studio building by the Brewhouse Café. The toilets in Green Court are also open.

Please note the toilets will close for a short period once a day to enable cleaning in line with Covid enhanced hygiene procedures to keep you safe. Please allow plenty of time to queue for the facilities.

Lockers

Please remember that large bags can't be taken into the showrooms. We recommend you use the visitor lockers in Porters Lodge which are available for use again. Please speak to a volunteer when you arrive for directions. You will need a £1 coin to operate the locker which will be returned to you when you leave.

Visitors walking through a garden in spring

Latest visiting update

Our gardens, parks, cafés, shops and countryside locations are open. Many houses are also open to visit. Advance booking for visits helps us keep everyone safe and socially distanced. At quieter times such as weekdays, booking shouldn't be necessary, but to guarantee entry we recommend booking in advance, especially at weekends and bank holidays.

Access to the park

Open all year round, dawn to dusk.

Visitors can access Knole Park via the many pedestrian gates around Sevenoaks. The multi-storey car park in Sevenoaks town centre (postcode TN13 1LW) is just a short walk from the park. Although the park covers a large area, please be mindful of social distancing and keep away from busy areas where groups can congregate.

During these unprecedented times, the team at Knole are working hard to keep everyone safe and to keep the park litter-free. We would be grateful if you could help us by taking your litter home with you and disposing safely.

Deer wander through Knole Park outside the West Front entrance of Knole in Sevenoaks, Kent

The deer

The wild deer herd are managed by the Sackville family's Knole Estate. Please keep a safe distance from them. Do not feed or approach them and walk away if they approach you. Please watch out for the deer and drive slowly when you're leaving.

The wild deer herd at Knole

The deer at Knole are owned and managed by the Sackville family's Knole Estate. Whilst National Trust doesn’t manage the herd, or the entirety of the park, it’s important to us that our visitors have the best experience possible, so here are some do’s and don’ts.