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Firle Place is a country estate and wedding venue set in the South Downs National Park. It has been the home of the Gage family since the 15th century, when the current building was begun, but covered in Caen stone and refurbished in the style of a French chateau in the 18th century. It has a good collection of old master paintings, including works by Gainsborough, Reynolds, Van Dyck, Raphael, as well as porcelain and furniture.
The house and parts of the gardens are open to the public and special events and exhibitions are held in the house and grounds.

Firle Place has been used as a film and television location, including heaturing in a 2020 adaptation of Jane Austen’s 'Emma'.

Fort Royal is a public park in Worcester that served as a Royalist redoubt overlooking the city during the Battle of Worcester in 1651.  The defences were earthworks and little trace of them remains visible.  The fort was stormed and captured by Parliamentary forces.

Future US presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson visited the site in 1786.  Adams wrote that he asked local people, who seemed unaware of the significance of the place, “And do Englishmen so soon forget the ground where liberty was fought for? Tell your neighbors and your children that this is holy ground; much holier than that on which your churches stand. All England should come in pilgrimage to this hill once a year."

The occasion was commemorated in 2009 by a Virginian oak being planted nearby, by the Defence Attaché to the Embassy of the USA, Rear Admiral Ronald H Henderson.

Post code is for a small car park.  Pedestrian access is off Wylde’s Lane.

Haddon Hall dates from the 11th century, was formerly the seat of the Duke of Rutland, and is currently the private home of Lord and Lady Edward Manners.  The Manners acquired Haddon through marriage and can therefore claim to have owned it for its entire existence; the hall is one of the oldest houses in the country.

From the 1700s, the family preferred their main seat at Belvoir Castle, so Haddon was empty for two centuries.  Unaltered by Georgians or Victorians, venturing into Haddon Hall has been described as like stepping back in time.  The Medieval Banqueting Hall remains furnished with its original Dais table, behind which hangs a tapestry gifted to the family by visiting Henry VIII.  The Parlour boasts its glorious Tudor painted ceiling of Tudor roses and marvellous heraldic panelling.  Exquisite and rare 15th century frescos adorn the walls of the Medieval Chapel.  In contrast to the Tudor and Medieval Rooms below, the light and airy first floor Elizabethan rooms culminate in the spectacular 110ft Robert Smythson designed Long Gallery; reputed to be one of the most beautiful rooms in England.

Outside, the terraced Elizabethan Walled Gardens cascade down to the River Wye and provide spectacular views over ancient parkland to the Peak District beyond.

Haddon is a favourite film location, featuring in no fewer than three different film adaptations of Jane Eyre, as well as Mary Queen of Scots, The Other Boleyn Girl, Pride & Prejudice and various documentaries.

Image credit: Historic Houses

Hever Castle dates from the 13th century and, famously, was once home to the Bullen, or Boleyn, family. Anne Boleyn spent part of her childhood here. After the Boleyns fell from favour, Henry VIII gave Hever to Anne of Cleves. It passed through various hands until being acquired by the American millionaire, William Waldorf Astor, in the early 20th century. Hever Castle and its grounds today is really his creation. He renovated the castle and created a lake, maze and Italian garden.

The castle and grounds are open to the public and also house the museum of the Kent and Sharpshooters Yeomanry. Hever additionally offers accommodation, golf and conference facilities.

The The Hospital of St Cross and Almshouse of Noble Poverty was founded as a hospital for the poor between 1132 and 1136 by Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester, grandson of William the Conqueror and younger brother of King Stephen.  Endowments enabled it to prosper and provide. In 1445, another powerful Bishop of Winchester, Cardinal Henry Beaufort, created the Order of Noble Poverty, and added the almshouses to the existing Hospital buildings. It continues to provide homes to twenty five brothers, who wear distinctive black or claret coloured robes.  Visitors are able to see the  Norman style church, Master’s Garden – and there is a teahouse and shop.  The Hospital of St Cross is famous for the  Wayfarer’s Dole - a horn of beer or ale with a piece of white bread given to any traveller that asks for it.

By far the best way to visit the Hospital of St Cross is on foot from Winchester Cathedral Close, through ancient gateways, past No 8 College Street, where author Jane Austen finished ‘Persuasion’, and died, turning right by Winchester College to the water meadows alongside the River Itchen.  The path is wide, well trodden and wonderful.  Keats enjoyed the same walk – it apparently inspired the ode ‘To Autumn’, written in 1819.  To the right are the immaculate playing fields of Winchester College, founded in 1382 by William of Wykeham, Henry Beaufort’s predecessor as Bishop of Winchester.  Its pupils are known as Wykehamists and the college motto is 'Manners Makyth Man' – the same as New College, Oxford, which was also founded by Wykeham.  To the left are the water meadows, cattle-grazed and seeming to lap against the contours of St Catherine’s Hill, site of an ancient univallate Iron Age hillfort and medieval chapel.  It is an immensely peaceful pathway, steeped in history and, somehow, very English. On a still, warm, June day, with the rich earthy scent of the riverbank wafting upward and the water sparkling and lapping nearby, it is almost heavenly. And, eventually, you will glimpse the hospital, like a scene from the past across a field.