GRAND DAYS OUT
They’re some of Britain’s greatest glories and now your children can go for free ...
TODAY, the Daily Mail is offering readers a two‑ for‑one deal at more than 100 english Heritage sites. Here is our pick of some of the best historic properties to visit up and down the country.
SOUTH
Battle Abbey, East Sussex SeT the time machine date to 1066 and head for Battle, where a 100‑acre once‑bloodied field and ruined abbey recount the tale of how William the Conqueror brutally secured his place in english history.
An interactive exhibition lets you handle replica weaponry, plus there’s an audio tour and cafe.
Open daily from 10am to 5pm (until November 1), adults £8.30, children (aged five to 15) £5, english-heritage.org.uk. Don’t miss: Stand on the exact spot in the abbey where King Harold suffered his savage fate. Where to stay: South Lodge holiday cottage at the abbey sleeps four, with three‑day breaks from £280. Osborne House, Isle of Wight QueeN Victoria and Prince Albert adored palatial Osborne House in east Cowes. Today, you can glide through their private apartments and feel the sand between your toes on the royal family’s former beach.
Open daily from 10am to 5pm (until November 1), adults £14.30, children (aged five to 15) £8.60, english-heritage.org.uk. Don’t miss: Swiss Cottage, the one‑time playground for the royal children; the family would often take afternoon tea here together. Where to stay: Pavilion Cottage within the grounds. Seven nights cost from £414.
SOUTH-EAST
Dover Castle, Kent
WHAT a spectacle! This huge landmark has been around 2,000 years and is known as the ‘guard‑ ian of england’. It still towers majestically over the town and the Channel.
Clamber around the 12th‑ century Great Tower or visit the Roman lighthouse. Then explore the secret war‑time tunnels from where the evacuation of Dunkirk was master‑minded. On a clear day, you can see France. Open daily from 10am to 5pm (until November 1), adults £ 18, children (aged five to 15) £10.80, english-heritage.org.uk.
Don’t miss: The Naafi Restaurant housed in the 1868 Regimental Institute.
WhereW to stay: The Sergeant Major’s House, which sleeps six, lies in the castle grounds and costs from £519 for three nights.
Walmer Castle and Gardens, Kent
OVeRLOOKING the pebbles near Deal beach, Walmer Castle, built during Henry VIII’s reign, is a small but perfectly formed seaside fortress. Feel the shore breeze in the eight acres of grounds and, inside, peruse art and furniture donated by some of the revered guests who’ve stayed here, including the Queen Mother and Winston Churchill.
Open daily from 10am to 5pm (until November 1), adults £9.70, children (aged five to 15) £5.80, english-heritage.org.uk. Don’t miss: The Wellington room; the Duke of Wellington lived in the castle for 23 years. His room recreates his life here and includes the armchair in which he died. Where to stay: Reside on site at The Greenhouse Apartment, which sleeps four and costs from £280 for three nights.
SOUTH-WEST
Tintagel Castle, Cornwall
THIS brooding clifftop castle, for ever associated with the legend of King Arthur, is set on a wild, teetering escarpment that is lashed by white surf. Dating back to Roman times, the castle’s craggy outline provides an evocative backdrop for wild walks. Inside the castle, there’s a new Arthur exhibition. Open daily from 10am to 5pm (until November 1), adults £7.20, children (aged five to 15) £4.30, english-heritage.org.uk. Don’t miss: If you’re feeling brave, take the wooden bridge and nerve‑jangling staircase that takes you from the mainland to the outcrop next door, where part of the castle remains Where to stay: Double rooms at the Tintagel Arms Hotel start from £45, including breakfast ( tintagelarmshotel.co.uk).
EAST ANGLIA Audley End House and Gardens, Essex
WIND the clock back to Jacobean times at Audley House, once one of the grandest properties in england. Waltz through the Great Hall, explore intimate dressing rooms and feel the sharp brunt of
hierarchy in the service wing. The house is open daily from 12pm to 4pm ( until November 1), adults £16, children (aged five to 15) £9.60, english-heritage.org.uk.
Don’t miss: Eight children from the Braybrooke family were entertained by their governess in Audley House’s nursery suite, a glimpse at how privileged youngsters played in the 1830s.
Where to stay: A three-night stay costs from £414 in Cambridge Lodge, a former Victorian gatehouse on the Audley End estate that sleeps four.
Framlingham Castle, Suffolk
OVERLOOKING the river Ore, this 12thcentury stronghold played its own part in the history of the English monarchy when Mary Tudor came to the throne here in 1516.
Visitors without fear of vertigo should tackle the curtain wall walk. it’s stood for more than 800 years and, at 10.5 metres high, is knee-knockingly high. Open daily from 10am to 5pm (until November 1), adults £7.20, children (aged five to 15) £4.30,
english-heritage.org.uk.
Don’t miss: glance up and spot the oldest surviving 12th-century and Tudor chimneys left on English soil.
Where to stay: Book into the Ufford Park hotel and spa in Woodbridge, where doubles cost from £62 ( uffordpark.co.uk).
MIDLANDS
Bolsover Castle, Derbyshire
OfT described as one of the architectural jewels of the English renaissance period, Bolsover Castle sits in the midst of coal-mining country near Chesterfield.
Straight out of a fairy tale, this sturdy fortress includes the Little Castle, which was once a splendid setting for owner Sir William Cavendish’s carousing. Open daily from 10am to 5pm (until November 1), adults £ 7.20, children (aged five to 15) £4.30,
english-heritage.org.uk.
Don’t miss: The riding School, where ‘ father of dressage’ Cavendish trained his horses during the 17th century.
Where to stay: The Twins Oaks hotel in Chesterfield has doubles from £75 ( twinoakshotel.co.uk).
NORTH Rievaulx Abbey, North Yorkshire
iT’S currently closed for major renovation, but put beautiful rievaulx Abbey on your must-do list for 2016, when this former 12thcentury Cistercian abbey-turnedironworks-turned-architectural muse for romantic poets, which lies just outside Helmsley in the river rye Valley, will re-open with a brand new museum, tea room and
shop. follow the renovations on the rievaulx Abbey facebook page or at englishheritage.org.uk.
Don’t miss: Nearby Byland Abbey, on the edge of the North York Moors, is home to some of our best-preserved medieval tiles.
Where to stay: The cosy Byland Abbey inn offers B&B from £130 per night for a double room ( bylandabbeyinn.com).
Housesteads Roman Fort, Northumberland
LOW-RISE compared to other castles, Housesteads roman fort, in Haydon Bridge, is more about excavated foundations than towering turrets. Vercovicium, as the soldiers of the time knew it, remains England’s most complete roman fort.
Stomp on the former parade ground, stroll through the barracks or see the hospital where wounded warriors rallied (or didn’t). There’s even the remains of a soldiers’ lavatory.
Open daily from 10am to 5pm (until November 1), adults £6.60, children (aged five to 15) £4, english-heritage.org.uk.
Don’t miss: Awe-inspiring views of the surrounding Northumberland National Park and the chance to trail part of Hadrian’s Wall.
Where to stay: The george in nearby Chollerford has doubles from £ 94 ( coastandcountryhotels.com).