Bateman's

Bateman's is the 17th-century house in the Sussex Weald that Rudyard Kipling bought in 1902 and lived in until his death in 1936; his widow Caroline gave the estate to the National Trust in 1939. He wrote Puck of Pook's Hill and Rewards and Fairies here, including the poem If, and the rooms he called untouched and unfaked remain much as he left them, with oak furniture, Persian rugs and his study upstairs. Outside are the Rose Garden he designed, 300 acres of High Weald countryside with a 2.5-mile Puck walk, a natural play area, and Park Mill, an 18th-century watermill that still grinds flour. Dogs on short leads are welcome in the garden and estate. Reviewers single out the volunteers, especially in the study, and the scone of the month in the tea-room. Tips from regulars: ignore satnavs that send you down narrow School Lane and follow the Trust signs from the A265, and the slope from reception into the garden is steep.