1-Bedroom Hot Tub Cottage in Surfleet - Fun Days Out

Sandringham House is a royal country house on a large estate in the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is owned personally by the monarch rather than the Crown, and the house is Grade II* listed. The landscaped gardens, park and woodlands are on the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens, and the site has a history stretching back to Elizabethan times.

Visitors can explore the house and gardens, then walk the woodland and waymarked trails of the Royal Parkland. There is a shop selling estate produce, home and garden wares and plants. For food, the Sandringham Courtyard and the Stables Takeaway Café in the gardens serve breakfast, light bites and sweet treats made with local produce. It suits anyone who enjoys royal history, a stroll through historic grounds, or a relaxed day with a cup of tea at the end.

Tip: If you're bringing a dog, check the estate's dog-friendly areas on its website before you set off.

Burghley House is one of the largest and grandest houses of the 16th century, built for William Cecil, Lord High Treasurer to Queen Elizabeth I. It is still a family home, and the State Rooms are full of paintings and treasures, including ceiling paintings on the Heaven Room and Hell Staircase and carvings by Grinling Gibbons.

Outside, there is plenty to fill the rest of the day. The Sculpture Garden covers Capability Brown's lost gardens, while the Garden of Surprises is a playful mix of classical ideas, astrology and astronomy. Children can head for Hide & Secrets, with woodland play zones and the Hidden Towers structure, which has two huge slides, climbing walls and wobbly walkways. The wider parkland was laid out by Capability Brown, with a large lake. There are places to eat on site, including the Orangery and Garden Café.

Tip: Book online in advance to save money on the day. Dogs on leads can use the parkland, but not the house, gardens or adventure play.

Grimsthorpe Castle is a country house in Lincolnshire, a few miles north-west of Bourne on the A151. Despite the name it isn't a castle in the strict sense, but its towers and outlying pavilions give it a massive, fortress-like look. Much of the Tudor house still stands, and Sir John Vanbrugh designed the Baroque north front, which is regarded as his last masterpiece.

Inside, you can see Vanbrugh's monumental stone-arcaded hall and the State Dining Room, which holds the throne used by George IV at his Coronation Banquet. The drawing rooms have portraits by Reynolds and Van Dyck, European furniture and Soho Tapestries, and the Chinese drawing room has a richly decorated ceiling. Outside, the house sits in a 3,000-acre park of rolling pastures, lakes and woodland landscaped by Capability Brown. It has been the home of the de Eresby family since 1516.

Tip: Head for the Vanbrugh hall and State Dining Room first, then take in the parkland.

Woolsthorpe Manor, near Grantham, is the birthplace and family home of Sir Isaac Newton. This Grade I listed house is cared for by the National Trust and presented as a typical seventeenth-century yeoman's farmhouse. Newton returned here in 1666 when Cambridge University closed because of the plague, and performed many of his most famous experiments on light and optics in the house.

Outside, the orchard is home to an apple tree linked with Newton's thinking on gravity, and the walled kitchen garden at the back has been restored. One of the old farmyard buildings now holds an interactive visitor experience about the physical principles Newton investigated. The manor sits on the edge of the village, mostly surrounded by fields.

Peckover House is a Georgian merchant's townhouse in Wisbech, built in 1722 and home to the Quaker Peckover banking family for 150 years. Inside are panelled rooms, Georgian fireplaces and ornate plasterwork, plus a library, a cabinet of curiosities and an exhibition on the family's banking business in the surviving part of the old Banking Hall.

Behind the house is a two-acre Victorian walled garden, known for its roses and an orangery with orange trees thought to be around 300 years old. There are also summer houses, herbaceous borders, a fernery, a croquet lawn and a 17th-century thatched Reed Barn, which houses a seasonal tea-room, a second-hand bookshop and plant sales. The garden is a good choice if you want to wander outdoors, while the house suits anyone interested in local history and how a wealthy Georgian family lived.

Tip: The house and garden keep different opening days, so check the National Trust page before you set off. Parking is in town, with Chapel Road the nearest car park.

Tattershall Castle is a National Trust property built in the 15th century by Ralph Cromwell, Treasurer of England. The Great Tower is an imposing red-brick keep with seven storeys, including the Parlour, Great Hall, Audience Chamber and Private Chamber. Some of the huge medieval fireplaces were once ripped out for sale abroad before being tracked down and returned.

A wide stone spiral staircase leads up to the roof and battlements, where you can look out across the countryside from the Fens. Outside, the grounds include a double moat, the ruins of the wider castle complex and peacocks. The visitor reception building is a 15th-century building with a small shop and a second-hand bookshop, and there are picnic tables near the car park.

Tip: The tower has 149 steps and no lift, and the grounds have deep gravel, so wear sensible shoes. Dogs on leads can go in most places but not inside the Great Tower, except assistance dogs.

Belton House is a Grade I listed country house near Grantham, built between 1685 and 1687 for the Brownlow family. It sits within formal gardens, including Italian and Dutch gardens, and a wooded park crossed by avenues leading to follies. The park has been home to a herd of fallow deer for over 300 years.

Beyond the mansion, there is plenty to fill a day. The estate has one of the National Trust's largest outdoor adventure playgrounds, an indoor play area, a shop, a second-hand bookshop and the Stables Café, plus picnic benches in the gardens. A circular walk in Belton Park passes ancient woodland and the site of a deserted medieval village.

It suits families with children, garden and history fans, and anyone who enjoys a long wander through parkland.

Tip: There's no need to book for normal visits, and parking is included in the entry fee. Park in the grounds, not in Belton village. Dogs on leads are welcome in the gardens, parkland and café, but not in the house or playgrounds.

Bolingbroke Castle is a ruined castle in Old Bolingbroke, Lincolnshire. It was founded in 1220 by Ranulf, Earl of Chester, shortly after he returned from the Fifth Crusade. It is one of the earliest castles designed and built without a keep, relying instead on thick walls, five D-shaped towers and a twin-towered gatehouse.

Much of the lower walls are still visible, along with the ground floors of the towers. The castle was the birthplace of Henry Bolingbroke, later Henry IV, in 1367, and it later saw action in the English Civil War before being slighted in 1652. Today it is a national monument, and its story and layout make it an interesting stop for anyone curious about medieval Lincolnshire.

Tip: Look for the lower walls and the ground floors of the towers, which are the main surviving parts to see.