Baddesley Clinton

Baddesley Clinton is a moated medieval manor house in the old Forest of Arden, home to the Ferrers family for five centuries and best known for the three priest holes built in the 1590s, when the Catholic household hid Jesuit priests from Elizabeth I's searchers. Inside, oak panelling, heraldic glass and low doorways lead through rooms furnished by the Victorian Quartet around Georgiana, Lady Chatterton, who lived here from 1869 until 1876. Outside are a walled garden and vegetable plot, ponds busy with ducks and geese that reviewers say follow visitors around, a lakeside and woodland walk, and lawns for picnics. The courtyard holds the cafe, second-hand bookshop, gift shop and toilets, and mobility scooters are available. Tips from regulars: the house runs on timed tickets, so collect yours on arrival and fill the wait in the garden or church; the overflow car park is a grass field; and tall visitors should mind their heads. Packwood House is two miles away for a second stop.