EH or NT Christmas recommendations please

[Hibernatalie]

Hello, can anyone please vouch for an English Heritage or National Trust place in the South East that is great at Christmas? Nicely decorated, kids activities a bonus but not essential. Thanks!

Following!

Not national trust, but Hever Castle and Tulleys Farm.

Not NT but Leeds Castle usually goes all out for Christmas.

Scotney Castle just off the A21. It's a beautiful setting, even more so at Christmas.

@PsychoSyd oh yes we haven’t been to that one - looks beautiful.

Bonus question - does anyone know if they charge a lot extra at Christmas for pass holders? Thanks!

Polesden Lacey goes all out at Christmas. We love it!

We've not been at Christmas but heard Audley End House is beautiful at Christmas.... It's lovely all year round. Has the Audley End railway and fairy forest opposite too which is lovely

Another vote for Polseden Lacey. It is lovely at Christmas, they always have a Christmas trail or similar. Some years are better than others though. If they get the acting troupe back to do a trail/story then that was very special for 5 year olds.

Dover castle and Walmer castle are both EH and might have something Christmassy on.

Leeds Castle (the one in Kent) is neither EH nor NT but has Christmas light trail, etc

Leeds Castle (the one in Kent) is neither EH nor NT but has Christmas light trail, etc
I was alittle disappointed with Leeds castle when I went to see it just before Christmas, and it was 'candle lit'
The problem was that it closed at 4.00pm, when it was still light, so no benefit to being candlelit.
Having said that, a beautiful castle, and well worth a visit

waddesdon manor decorate the house and have a Christmas light trail

Thanks everyone - we have been to both Hever Castle and Leeds castle many times and agree they are both lovely at Christmas, but looking specifically for EH or NT this year as we’ve just got passes.
will have a look at these recommendations, thank you!

Waddesdon manor is our favourite. Our local is The Vyne which is also lovely but not as all out as Waddesdon.

The Vyne is Tudor it feels more christmassy. Another local, Basildon Park, has different trees in each room plus usually a kids trail,

Polesden Lacy as previously suggested is excellent at Christmas . Standen House and Petworth also usually decorate nicely . Waddesden you can get cheaper tickets for NT members but it’s not free and we went a couple of years ago and really didn’t like it at all . Scotney did some evening events last Christmas which were free for members . If you want to go further afield Kingston Lacy is always beautifully decorated and Hughenden ( Disraelis house) is also lovely . Hughenden is worth a trip at any time of the year though as it’s Hinton Ampner .

Standen is beautiful at Christmas but swerve the trail. Santa himself was incredible last year but the rest of it was so badly executed that I complained and got a full refund. Apparently in previous years it was much better.

I should add that we don’t have any children with us so don’t do FC visits and have very limited interest in light trails but do love a good Christmas tree .

NT Batemans is lovely for Christmas. The hall has an open fire which is lit and the table set for a festive feast, lots of other rooms are decorated for Christmas too. One year we visited there was a real robin flying around the kitchen, he was very much at home too.

NT Knole is decorated for Christmas too. There is a Christmas trail too, last year it was snowmen. My grandchildren love the idea of going inside a 'real' castle too.

@MissMarplesGoddaughter is it still guided tour only in the house at Batemans at Christmas as we always give it a swerve as we prefer to look around on our own and when we last went the tour dragged on a bit long for my daughter and her CFS .

@Floralnomad we've been several times at Christmas with GC and whilst there were guides in the various rooms to answer questions, we went round at our own pace and not as part of a guided tour. Maybe contact Batemans nearer Christmas to check? My GSs and guided tours would not work either. 👍

@MissMarplesGoddaughter thanks for that , it is not far from us so we will give it a go , if it’s a tour we will just do the garden / coffee shop / shop .

I came on to say Polsden Lacey (but beware, the queue to get into the carpark can be long if you're not there early). It is well worth it though. Depending where you are, it's smaller, but Nymans was stunning last year, and could easily be combined with a trip to Standen - they're probably only about 20-30 minutes apart.

We did Hever last year and that was beautiful too, although we weren't overly impressed by the light trail.

I was going to say Waddesdon but I fear it now charges extra at Christmas.

@Hibernatalie - Tulleys are running 2 seperate Xmas events this year, did you know?

The usual Santa experience, based at the main Tulleys farm.

New for this year is the Christmas Lights experience based on the pumpkins sight just up the road. It looks really good.

Just to add to this thread Scotney Castle in Kent are doing twilight evenings again on certain dates in December , free for members you just need to book your parking ( also free for members ) .