National Trust - Basildon Park in Reading

Lovely NT property. One of the rooms was used to film a Downton Abbey ball. Well worth going on one of the walks too. Well signposted and through some lively woodland too. Look out for the Chestnut and Walnut trees. Recommended

We quite enjoyed our short visit here, we liked the house and plan to come back to do one of the many walking routes.Ive included a small selection of pictures as I feel its better for the house to be visited and seen in person.The volunteers are friendly and happy to discuss the rooms and general history of the house.

Lovely stately home and grounds although not much in terms of content to view. Some parts of the garden were closed due to filming and would suggest checking prior to visiting for planned closures.

Thoroughly enjoyed visiting the house- the volunteer who explained the history of the Octagon room & the rest of the house was amazing- so passionate, and so detailed.. YOU made the visit truly worthwhile!! ❤️ only reason not 5 stars is the top floor wasnt open, and would have loved to see the Garden Room on the ground floor.. Great visit, thoroughly enjoyed..

Very knowledgeable and helpful volunteers, the property needs so many people to make it tick over it must be a staffing nightmare. If there was an area that would improve its first impression appeal it would be the lawns and trees that seem to have been left on the back burner.

Lovely building and parkland with some nice walks.

Another good national trust place to visit, with its lovely views of the country side, good marked walks which take through woodland and fields. Places for picnics to enjoy your food. The house was good to look around, depending on staffing some of the house may not be open. The on site facilities are well looked after.

This is a really interesting NT property and grounds. The house is homely and beautifully decorated in a range of styles from original Georgian plaster ceilings to a 1950s kitchen. Theres an extraordinary room housing a shell collection too. The grounds have a well marked selection of varying lengths of trails through fields and woodlands, with activities for kids along the way. We really enjoyed our visit.

Lovely NT property, restored well and work progress. Well worth a visit.

Was informative and interesting experience and the volunteers were very nice and helpful. Free parking and games on the lawn!

It was one of the hottest days this summer, beautiful place to explore and relax at.

Such a beautiful place National Trust Basildon Park. If you love Pride and Prejudice youll know. Beautiful inside and out. Was such an relaxing place. Look forward to going back soon.

We have been here before, a few years ago. Its a lovely house. A lot of period dramas have been filmed here, which I found interesting. All the rooms are absolutely beautiful, especially the shell and coral room. The house is in a lovely location as well.

This really is a gorgeous place to visit!! Plenty for the kiddies to do too. The walk round the house doesnt take too long and is steaped in history. Its been used in loads of films and TV programmes and so it should it is absolutely gorgeous. We did the long walk round the edge of the property and it took just under two hours. The woodland walk is really lovely and there small buildings round the estate to admire too.

Interesting House, regular filming location. Keep an eye out for it upcoming shows. Good parkland walks with free roaming cattle.

The house was interesting to walk through with a live pianist performed in one of the reception rooms. The volunteers were so well informed about the property too.And the property had a nice touch with a few games offered in the ground for visitors (eg. Tug of war, bean bags throwing, noughts and crosses, croquet).The only downside was the food options in the cafe. I was mildly disappointed as there were usually more to choose from in other national trust properties that I’ve been to.

Lovely on a sunny day.£15 entry for non-National Trust members. Including entry into the house - leaflets explaining what movies/tv the house had been used in.Cafe available on site, not much choice of food but able to get some teas and coffee.Walks mapped out around the ground which are lovely and quite would recommend the blue walk called ‘Hidden Valley’

Unfortunately we didnt enough time to do it justice. The tea rooms that are located under the house were amazingly decorated (complete wall to wall and ceiling muralTwo of the first floor rooms have the most detailed, colourful and luxurious decor I have ever seen.👍👍

Beautiful grounds and house, well worth a visit

Building in good condition. Well kept grounds. Staff and volunteers helpful. Interesting stories. One of my favourite NT properties recently

Great visit here on Saturday afternoon... loads of overflow parking in field, still close to the entrance. We received a good welcome, and explanation of what was where, then lovely walks through the woods and surrounding area to house. The house itself is stunning... lovely helpful, chatty and knowledgeable staff... some lovely stories and plenty of passion when explaining. Only complaint was a bit of a queue at the cafe...

Had a really love afternoon here today. Lovely grounds and gardens. Very knowledgeable voluntary gardeners, happy to share advice and information. Looked around the beautiful house which has a fascinating history. Again made all the more enjoyable by the voluntary guides who share their enthusiasm for Basildon Park. Excellent National Trust property, well worth a visit.

Wow what a house, some of the rooms takev6our breath away, stunning groups well worth a visit.

Great place to have a walk around, the flowers in the garden were beautiful in blossom and the house is interesting to visit, well maintained with lots of history. Local guides are lovely people to chat with

This is a lovely Georgian house with a nice estate. Parking is near and effective. The woodland walk to the house short and pleasant though a bit muddy. To be expected it is a wood. The house is a lovely piece of Georgian architecture however. Through no fault of its own, this house has been through phases of near dereliction so although the history is interesting, many features are reconstructions. The internal collections do not reflect the tastes of anyone but the last owner and so are eclectic. There are though some gems here including original drawings for the Coventry cathedral tapestry. And the site is often used as a filming location so that is an element of interest too. They do have staffing issues and the upper floor was closed as a result when I visited. There are two sets of bathrooms on site, at the top and bottom of the hill, a cafe which is good, and a moderately large shop. It is the cheaper end of the scale for NT properties, but that said, I think it is still expensive for what it is. But members should definitely visit.

Recently visited this hidden gem with friends - honestly, we wanted to have a picnic somewhere nice, halfway between the two houses and Basildon Park popped up on the map 🗺Realised, when we arrived at the house, that multiple films and TV series have been filmed here 🎥The house is magnificent, the grounds are beautiful and if you are as lucky as we were; it’s the perfect spot for a picnic - would definitely visit again.I’ve given a 4* rating, only because I felt £15.00 per person is quite steep - although I’m hoping we can visit the national parks regularly, so we may invest in a couple of memberships.

Fantastic house and gardens. Enjoyed the cafe. Great staff and volunteers. This house is set in beautiful countryside and has a great story.

A nice visit, country house and park. Nice walk through some trees and the surrounding parkland. Lovely gardens also and view from gardens onto surrounding countryside. Free for national trust members.

Beautifully located house in the lovely Berkshire countryside. The knowledgeable staff in the house offered up some interesting stories about the building and family that used to live there. We loved the wild flower meadows full of cowslips! The fresh cooked restaurant food was great, I had a delicious feta & pea fritatta!The only down side was that the loos were a bit of a trek back to the main car park. A little more signage would be good to find your way to the woodland walks. This is why I only gave 4 stars.

Another great location and beautiful grounds. The house visit itself is quite small considering the size of the place, and the entrance is up a spiral staircase which would make a visit for a disabled person or parents with pushchairs quite challenging. (there may be another was up but we didnt need it so didnt ask)The grounds are lovely and very spacious perfect for the children to run wild which on a nice day is a great walk around the fields and woodlands.As always cafe, toilets and baby changing rooms on site.We will return earlier again for a better longer walk around the park soon.Overall nice little trip out and another one ticked off the list!

So grateful for our National Trust memberships. Another lovely place to visit and once again fantastic volunteers on hand with founts of knowledge. The grounds are impeccably kept and there are 4 walks ranging from 20 mins to 2 hours through fields and woodland. Also dont be put off by the fairly plain exterior, inside the house is stunning. We loved it.

What a great place to visit. The house was amazing and grand to look at. The volunteers were engaging and helpful when talking about the history of the place. Thoroughly enjoyed the day!

Loved our time here, arrived at 2pm and missed most of the crowds. Staff were exceptionally friendly, especially the lady at the first desk we encountered with a bandana in her hair. She was friendly and helpful and took such care of any elderly guests. It was lovely to see. The house is beautiful and the houses in each room were happy to share lots of interesting facts. Even the origin of Bill Sykes in Oliver Twist. Coffee shop was fantastic too. Highly recommend, do dress warmly as we did find it a little cold!

Lovely park which provides options for a short walk as well as some longer ones. The tea room was nice enough for a quick bite to eat. Good place for a picnic in summer weather

Great visit today. House and gardens lovely with lots of Spring colour

A truly wonderful place to visit. The house is a mini palace having beautiful decor and paintings. The grass land is paradise for kids and pets and good for picnic. With clean toilet and good tea house serving tasty baked potatoes. You can spend a whole day there

Beautiful house and Gardens. Plenty of open grass land for the kids to run riot and burn off some energy. Great location to have a picnic too. The house is beautiful inside and the ceiling architecture is stunning. Highly recommended.

The house itself is rather impressive and well kept on the outside with lovely grounds and views, however the circular 5km walk was a bit of a mud bath and very slippery for 80% of it which was a shame as that rather ruined our enjoyment. We visited on a Saturday and the car park filled up very quickly, though there is a small over flow car park on the grass which was full by the time we left, so Id advise to get here early for a space.

We do spent a lot of time visiting these national trusts sites around the U.K.Basildon Park is a country house situated 2 miles (3 kilometressouth of Goring-on-Thames and Streatley in Berkshire, between the villages of Upper Basildon and Lower Basildon. It is owned by the National Trust and is a Grade I listed building.

Another cracking NT property with some rooms inside the hall to see and extensive gardens to walk around. Depending on the route you take and time of year some of the paths can be a bit muddy so take appropriate shoes.

Lovely little location to visit for a great walk, or the actual home itself. Sadly the house was closed for deep cleaning. Its January so if youre walking wear wellies or walking boots as its muddy on the tracks. Lovely little coffee/tea and snacks shop too.

Nice grounds for a walk, a bit muddy in January. The house is nice and the volunteers knowledgeable as is usually the case at national trust properties. The car park was very busy when we left, with a queue to get in.

Bit of a queue to get into car park due overflow field too wet to use. No problem though. Beautiful light draped trees leading to house. Stunning house with plenty of rooms open, many with great Christmas decorations. Busy but pleasant cafe, no problem getting a table. Many paths around the parkland. Well recommended.

The house is very impressive, and quite a good walk in the gardens around the house and along the river.

An impressive property set in rolling hills and lovely woodland. We were met in the carpark by friendly staff who directed us to a parking spot. There is a lovely little stables area converted into entrance and gift shop/toilets. The walk up through the woods was done very festively and created a glorious atmosphere amongst the trees. The house itself had a very interesting history which was well told by the volunteers on hand. Has an enviable position dominating the hillside with glorious views of the surrounding countryside. The house was decked out in Christmas regalia that transformed it into a lovely place to enjoy and walk around. Its such a shame that the house ( under previous ownership of MOD had been allowed to deteriorate, so well done to the National Trust for saving it. Some wonderful walks can be had in the grounds so bring sturdy footwear. Downsides - Not much printed information as you went around the house, to illustrate its back story or artefacts, huge queues for the tea shop/cafe ( missing a trick there NT as lots of people who would of bought didnt due to wait times and the entry price for non members of £15 is a little on the steep side. However that said, still well worth a visit for its wonderful grounds and many rooms open to the public in the house itself.

What a beautiful tearoom! We loved the painted walls (also the cakes and paninis!)Beautiful walk in the woods - where kids made their own art. Climbed trees/tree stumps. Far reaching views of the estate. Well worth the visit.

Great place to go with the family, there is a very nice and safe walk loop from the House of about 4km. The staff at the house are very friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. Great history behind that amazing place.

Second time weve been here, albeit with a four year gap! Good selection of rooms open and the grounds are great. We had a lovely walk through some of the parkland, past the cows. Also had lunch at the cafe, jacket potatoes, cake and hot drinks. All very tasty.

Unfortunately theres no reason to visit this house unless you live locally or are on a box ticking exercise.The grounds and walks are pleasant enough. The house volunteers jolly as usual but the f&f as good as a provincial auction house visit.You can easily just drive past and miss the entrance. Awful signage generally.Time for a wake up call and its not just the shrinking Saussage roll. . Next....

I joined the National Trust just before the last lockdown (Dec 2020and didnt get a lot of use from it. So we decided to book to see the house and then all the walks around it. We werent disappointed.The house is just an amazing sight. Some of the most beautiful ceramics and antiques are dotted around the house and I loved the furniture. One chest of drawers in particular (check out my picturesstood out to me. It had parquetry and a serpentine front. It would have taken so many hours to make however it was evidently a labour of love as stands out among the other gems in the house.I would also like to mention the staff throughout the house. They were very knowledgeable and had some of the most obscure facts I have ever heard. It was wonderful.Then we had a stroll through the massive grounds. Which I have to say, were very beautiful and fantastically well kept. Which would require an army of workers but the result is worth it.So I would heartily recommend giving the place a visit.