polesden lacey

A unique Edwardian home with a wonderful history. Excellent eating facilities. Beautiful gardens even in March.

We called on the first Sunday there where open for the season. The house is magnificent and well worth a visit. What went on behind closed doors set the gossips alight. the gardens are a delight to walk in any time of year and as with any national trust property plenty of much longer walks for the adventurous.our only disappointment was the restaurant which we have used before. Normally just having a cake or sandwich and a cup of tea which they caterer for admirably. this time we decided to stop for lunch which was a great disappointment and not cheap at £9.25 each. My wife ordered the shepherds pie in to which they had added baked beans. Come on chefs, this might entice a toddler to eat it but really is not an ingredient that should be there. I ordered the chicken pie, which was by no stretch of the imagination a pie. It was a chicken stew served in an individual bowl with a pastry lid. to boot it was also completely tasteless. the vegetables where scarce any non the plate and what there was were cold.Conclusion, have your soup or sandwich or bit of cake ,but give the rest a wide berth.

Visited for the first time with my wife, greeted with great warmth especially as we are both life time members unlike that at Wakehurst where you are greeted badly when showing the NT card. The grounds are certainly very appealing after the winter period, the views from the back of the house are beautiful where you can easily have great picnics, there were even deck chairs available which were being used on this early spring day. The house was really interesting from the Edwardian period, to see rolled top baths from this era confirms how things have moved on in such a short time.We certainly will visit again and the car park is free to all!.

Dear Moira,Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback about your visitor experience. We really do value constructive feedback and your comments will be taken under consideration and discussed at our next Business Review meeting, where we do think about how to improve visitor experiences like yours. School holidays are definitely our busiest time, but we are always looking for ways to improve our service whilst under pressure.If you send me an email with your address, I'd be happy to send you some vouchers for a free cream tea on your next visit. Get in touch: camilla.morgan@nationaltrust.org.uk

Check the weather forecast and then visit Polesden Lacey. A wonderful setting to take the Fortnums wicker picnic hamper, some chairs and maybe a small table. Go there for a jazz afternoon when, under the colonnade, they have a quartet playing gentle numbers that waft across the lawns. Jazz days are advertised on the National Trust website. The house, its contents and its history are fascinating. Sometimes, in the house they play old 78 rpm records on a wind-up gramophone, which gives one the period flavour of the Thirties and the lifestyle of the owner and her guests. We are annual visitors and we last visited Sunday 24th August 2014 and the jazz was romantic. Ice creams available on site!

Interesting house and lovely gardens. The cafe/restaurant is in the stable yard and food was good. Gardens are a good shape with lovely views. Plenty to interest the visitor in both house and garden.

Been to Polesden many times and never cease to be amazed by the view from the house over the hills. Friendly staff at reception, lovely food at both cafes and great walks. Since we joined the NT in 2002 this is the place my partner and I keep returning to. In fact we're going on Saturday for a meal and a good walk round despite both being 60 + !

The house is in a beautiful setting, and in the sunshine albeit on a cold day, it was very pleasant walking round the gardens and parkland. We joined a limited guided tour round 4 rooms of a cold , darkened house but found the talk rather dull and stilted. I appreciate the room light is kept low to prevent fading of materials , but this was taking it a bit too far. The whole thing could have been livened up a bit and a bit more information given - who writes the scripts ? - the volunteers ?Since it was getting on , we decided to eat in the restaurant which was a bit chaotic. Found ourselves standing in a queue for the wrong thing till seeing the signs to pay at the tills for hot found then go and take a seat , so perhaps the signage could be made a little clearer or more obvious.The waitresses were working very hard, but all seemed quite cheerful, and I was impressed by the beef and ale pie made with good quality lean chunks of beef and good short pastry.Yes , there were a lot of children , but it's a family attraction...

Dear Ken G,I was really sorry to hear that you've had such an unpleasant experience in the Granary Cafe, especially as you seemed to enjoy it more in previous years. Please accept our apologies and, as a gesture of goodwill, we would like to invite you and your wife back to Polesden for a free cream tea with the hope that we can create a more enjoyable experience for you.We are aware that Polesen Lacey appeals to a variety of audiences. Admittedly we are very popular with young families. However, we believe that Polesden should be for everyone to enjoy and we do care that other audiences have a good time. I want you to know that we do work hard to achieve the sense of balance that you highlight in your review. We don't always get it right, but we do take constructive feedback seriously. I will include your comments and feedback in our next business review meeting, which happen on a monthly basis. Thanks for your feedback and I hope we'll see you at Polesden Lacey again soon. If you would like to take me up on the offer of a free cream tea, then please email me at camilla.morgan@nationaltrust.org.uk.

A beautiful house with lovely grounds. Plan to spend a few hours as Polesden Lacey has so much to see and some surprising history.

Dear Caroline W,Thanks for taking the time to share your view about the property and your recent visit. We value constructive feedback and regularly use it to improve the experience that we give our visitors. Your comments about the commercialisation and staff have been noted and wil be shared with the team. As the National Trust is a not-for-profit conservation charity and, as such, the money raised through our admission charges goes towards conserving the house, collections, the gardens and the local landscape. We do, therefore, expect all visitors to the property to enter via the main visitor reception to either show their membership card or pay the admission charge as this is vital to the ongoing conservation of the estate, ensuring it survives for everyone's enjoyment, for ever. I am sorry if a gate was left propped open when you visited causing confusion with the entry - I will endeavour to ensure this does not happen again in the future.Hoping that you may decide to re-visit us again in the future.

A great country house set in imposing grounds -once used it as a film location and decided to revisit

We went to Polesdon Lacy on a Saturday in December. This was really fascinating - an Edwardian Christmas with the guides all dressed in traditional costumes. They were all happy and chatty, and loved the place. There were many floral displays which came out well in photos. There should have been free mulled wine - it was all gone. There was also a horse drawn ‘sleigh’ providing an attraction for the children.

I love Polesden Lacey. The story of Margaret Greville is fascinating and the house and grounds are beautiful. It's not too big, so easy to do in a couple of hours. Look out for the dog cemetery and Mrs Greville's own grave, both in the gardens. When I went, the upstairs wasn't available to view, but the ground floor is so interesting, it didn't really matter. Highly recommended.

Hi Hayley B,Thanks for taking the time to share your view and your kind words about the property. We value constructive feedback and regularly use it to improve the experience our visitors have, your comments about value for money have been noted. I would just highlight the fact that the National Trust is a not-for-profit conservation charity and, as such, the money raised through our admission charges goes towards conserving the house, collections, the gardens and the local landscape, which, as you pointed out, are all very special. We like to encourage regular visitors to become members of the National Trust as membership usually pays for itself over a handful of visits and therefore offers better value for money to our visitors.We expect all visitors to the property to enter via the main visitor reception to pay the admission charge or to show their membership card as this is vital to the ongoing conservation of the estate, ensuring it survives for everyone's enjoyment, for ever.You mentioned the additional charge for entering the house this year during the festive season. Every year, we invest a lot into offering a really special experience for our visitors at Christmas time and this additional charge covers the cost of our Christmas Advent event. But we feel the event offers great value for money as it includes a free glass of mulled wine, a piece of dundee cake, free wreath-making workshops, and much more inside the house.