South West - Dorset

Back
KINGSTON LACY

Wimborne Minster,
Dorset
BH21 4EA
t: 01202 883402
e: kingstonlacy@nationaltrust.org.uk
w: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/kingston-lacy

Home of the Bankes family for more than 300 years, this striking 17th-century house is noted for its lavish interiors. The outstanding art collection includes paintings by Rubens, Van Dyck, Titian and Tintoretto, as well as the largest private collection of Egyptian artefacts in the UK.


Outside, there are beautiful lawns, a restored Japanese tea garden and several waymarked walks through the surrounding parkland, with its fine herd of North Devon cattle. The 3,443-hectare (8,500-acre) estate is dominated by the Iron Age hill fort of Badbury Rings, home to 14 varieties of orchid.

Note: point-to-point races are held at Badbury Rings on three days a year – on these days a charge is made for parking.

If you like this, you may also enjoy…
Beningbrough Hall and Gardens, North Yorkshire (Yorkshire and the North East) where an impressive collection (over 100) 18th-century portraits are on show.