What a surprise! I've always driven past the entrance, and wondered what it was like. I'm sorry it took so long to explore! The house and gardens were fascinating, and the attendants were very well informed and terribly keen to pass on their knowledge. Great to see scenes from Downton Abbey, and to realise that a lot of the series was filmed here. We took ages to go through the house, and alas, the queues for lunch were very long. It took about 20 minutes to get served, but the food was reasonable and tasty. A lovely way to spend the day with the family. I look forward to returning in the summer.
This is worth a visit. You can buy (or bring your own) tennis ball for the kids and there are activities sent up around the grounds (learning type things). The grounds are great for a picnic and there is a nice cafe. The house is not huge but worth a tour. Very lucky to have this in our backyard.
No wonder this is the the Film & TV makers setting of choice. It's a lovely place and if you can go on a tour the real stories of life in this house are made to sparkle by the enthusiastic team here. There are also displays of the movie stuff, bringing the past and present nicely together.There is a bit of a walk from the car park to the house but the Buggy service was fantastic and is highly recommended. I would say the House is adult orientated, but the grounds were very busy with families who looked like they were having great fun too. There really is something for everyone here.
We have visited Basildon Park a few times now as it's one of the larger and better NT properties in our area to visit. The house and grounds are lovely and very interesting and the staff very happy and friendly. The guides are knowledgable and the tours are given clearly and conscisely. The shop and tea room are good and the tomato soup in the tea room is out of this world! Be sure to try it.
Whether you want to explore the Basildon Hall, the stately home, or wander round the beautiful parklands, this is a wonderful place to spend an afternoon.
We visited on a very cold winter's morning over Christmas. On arrival we were greeted by very friendly and helpful staff who provided us with a map and directions of the things to see - especially with our five-year old in tow.The grounds were pretty despite the cold snap and were happy to get to the warm house once we trekked up the hill from the entrance. The staff within the house were faultless welcoming us like old friends and giving us and our son loads of information on the various rooms. Overall a worthwhile 5 stars!
Wonderful stately home full of interest. The staff were incredibly friendly, and helpful to my elderly father. The lunch in the cafe was particularly good, excellent value for money.
We did all the right things, chose a lovely day, telephoned the attraction before leaving to check they were open and then safely drove 60+ miles to see Basildon Park. When we arrived, there was a notice outside saying they had shut both house and grounds as there were too many people there! We simply could not believe it! The volunteer staff with whom we talked were implacable and their body language less than friendly.We drove a round trip of 120 miles all to no avail.If the National Trust is going to use its properties for TV settings then it really needs to up its game to ensure that its members are still able to enjoy the properties without this seemingly random closure affecting people.The staff who were stopping prospective visitors entering said that they were monitoring people leaving. We saw no evidence of communication with anyone and indeed then drove around past the exit where many vehicles were leaving.This was a shambles and the National Trust should be ashamed of its lack of strategic direction with this property,
The hall was well,displayed with knowledgable staff to assist and also a Room which explained what had been used for filming with which programmes. We really enjoyed the experience Nd would recommend it as a great place to visit
I love visiting Basildon Park as it is such a lovely house. I quite like the newspaper type information bulletins in the rooms but wonder why these are not laminated to save them from getting grubby. The restaurant has the best caramel slice ever. The shop has a good range of items with helpful staff.