Westerham England - August 21 2019; Chartwell country house of Winston Churchill now part of National Trust.

© BrianScantlebury / Getty Images

Chartwell

Top choice in Kent


Why you should go

The Chartwell Estate was home of Sir Winston Churchill from 1924 until his death in 1965. It offers a breathtakingly intimate insight into the life of England's famous cigar-chomping bombast.

This 19th-century house and its rambling grounds have been preserved much as Winnie left them, full of books, pictures, maps and personal mementos. Churchill was also a prolific painter and his now extremely valuable daubings are scattered throughout the house and fill the garden studio.

Follow walking trails that take you through the lovely gardens, into the surrounding woodland, and to the Canadian Camp lined with hammocks. There are various children's play areas too – kids can pull themselves up through a bomb crater on a series of ropes, enjoy swings and seesaws in the Quarry, and clamber over an elaborate freestanding treehouse at the top of the woods.

Tickets and other practicalities

Tickets to the house and grounds, or just the grounds, can be bought online in advance. Entry is free for National Trust members.

Chartwell is 6 miles west of Sevenoaks. Transport options are limited without a car. Take a taxi from the nearest train station Edenbridge (4 miles), accessible from London Victoria.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Kent attractions

1. Down House

6.16 MILES

Down House, on the edge of the quaint Kent village of Downe, was Charles Darwin's home from 1842 until his death in 1882. It was here that he developed…

2. Mayfield Lavender

12.56 MILES

With a bright-red London phone box rising surreally up in a sea of purple flowers, Mayfield Lavender is one of the most alluring summer sights around…

3. Crystal Palace Museum

13.97 MILES

This small museum affords a look at the history of Crystal Palace and local history. A guided tour takes place at noon on the first Sunday of each month,…

4. Crystal Palace Park

14.05 MILES

Named after the prodigious glass-and-iron palace erected for the Great Exhibition in 1851 and moved here from Hyde Park in 1854, this huge park makes for…

5. Eltham Palace

14.11 MILES

This gorgeous 1930s art-deco mansion was built by Stephen Courtauld, whose family made a fortune in the rayon (artificial silk) industry, and his wife…

6. Red House

14.74 MILES

From the outside, Red House is reminiscent of a gingerbread house wrought in stone. It was built in 1859 by Victorian designer William Morris – of Morris…

7. Danson House

14.76 MILES

This Palladian villa was built by John Boyd, an East India Company director, in 1766. Saved from demolition in 1995, the house was painstakingly renovated…

8. Sydenham Hill Wood

14.91 MILES

Sydenham Hill Wood is an intriguingly incongruous patch of wilderness that has an air of secrecy about it, despite being surrounded on all sides by the…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "england/southeast-england/kent/attractions/chartwell/a/poi-sig/1594064/358961",
      "destination": "Kent",
      "continent": "Europe",
      "country": "England",
      "region": "Kent",
      "position": "superzone"
    }