Sissinghurst is more than a garden. It is a garden in the ruin of an Elizabethan house, set in the middle of its own woods, streams and farmland and with long views on all sides across the fields and meadows of the Kentish landscape.

When Harold Nicolson, the writer and diplomat, and Vita Sackville-West, poet, novelist and gardener, first came here in 1930, Sissinghurst was dripping in its own inheritance; it had been a medieval manor house and was visited by Queen Elizabeth in the 16th century before falling into ruins and being mistreated for nearly 300 years.

What to see and do

Location
Sissinghurst Castle, Biddenden Road, near Cranbrook, Kent TN17 2AB
Telephone: 01580 710701 (Infoline)

Admission
Gift Aid Admission (Standard Admission prices in brackets): adult £10.50 (£9.50), child £5.20 (£4.70), family £26 (£23.50)

Opening times
See National Trust website for latest opening times.