Knole and Ightham Mote: the back story

About Knole and Ightham Mote: the back story

By the ULTIMATE Brighton Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

Sevenoaks has two of the National Trust’s most remarkable houses on its doorstep: Knole, a 600-year-old estate of courtyards, showrooms and parkland with wild deer, and Ightham Mote, a medieval moated manor in a wooded valley.

From the top of Sevenoaks High Street a gate opens into another world: rolling parkland, ancient trees and herds of deer, with the grey battlements of Knole beyond.

Knole

Knole is a 600-year-old estate with courtyards, showrooms and the Gatehouse Tower, cared for by the National Trust.

Check opening times and trains on the official sites before you travel.

The deer park

Knole’s acres of parkland are home to wild deer: enjoy them from a distance, and never feed them.

Ightham Mote

A few miles east, Ightham Mote is a medieval moated manor house in a wooded valley, also cared for by the National Trust.

In town

Back in Sevenoaks, the Stag on London Road is the town’s theatre and cinema; Number Eight serves lunches, dinners and Sunday roasts; and The Restoration dates back to 1616.

Our advice: walk into Knole Park from the town, visit the house, and save Ightham Mote for the afternoon; check both houses’ opening times first.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Knole and Ightham Mote: the back story before you go.