Knebworth House Review
Reviewed by Tricia Shaw
If you’re looking for a great day out for all the family then look no further than Knebworth House, near Stevenage. Open from 10am to 5pm every day until 30th August (see website for up to date information). It is easy to find from Junction 7 of the A1M following the signs or using the satnav to the Novotel.
On arrival we headed straight for Fort Knebworth, a huge play area with plenty of opportunities for the kids to run around, crawl through the tunnels, climb to the top of the lookout towers, and swing on the various swings and other apparatus within the fort.
Outside of the fort there is a trim trail, zip wire, a variety of different swings for the older members of the family, as well as a lovely play area for the younger ones.
The highlight of the play area for my kids (aged 10, 13 and 43) were the Astro slide, free fall slide and curly slide, despite being very busy all the queues were short and quick. Having eventually persuaded them to leave the play area we headed to the picnic shelters for our picnic lunch. Nearby there is a kiosk selling a variety of drinks and ice-creams.
Parking at the fort is easy and plentiful and you can either leave the car there and walk up the hill (approx. 25 minutes) to the house and gardens or drive up to the car park. On route you can stop to look at the mausoleum, the lovely views and the pretty church. Passing the barns, the gift shop and the tea room we made our way straight to the house.
On the day that we were there visits to the house itself were by guided tour. We were taken round by Hilary Harrington who gave us a very interesting and informative talk about the various rooms and the items displayed within. Although fairly small there was a lot to see. There is currently a British Raj exhibition detailing the family’s time in India which was also fascinating.
Within the gardens there is plenty to see and do without too much walking. They are very pretty and well looked after. There are some very impressive carvings in old tree stumps, a fun maze, a woodland wilderness as well as the dinosaur trail which was great fun. The gardens are mostly wheelchair accessible although the woodland wilderness could be difficult to access in places.
The tea room with plenty of seating both inside and outside is very pleasant, and we were pleased to find the prices were reasonable (2 fizzy drinks, 2 teas, 2 cakes and an ice cream for £14). The chocolate cake and carrot cake can both be highly recommended!
All the staff were pleasant helpful and friendly.
For further details please look at their website which is very easy to navigate with loads of useful information.
We had a fantastic family day out.
Rating: 5/5
Tickets cost from £9.50 to £13 per person (£34 to £46 family ticket).
For more information or to book tickets visit www.knebworthhouse.com.
Knebworth House, Knebworth, SG1 2AX | 01438 812661
