Berrington Hall

Berrington Hall is a red sandstone neoclassical mansion built between 1778 and 1781 by Henry Holland for Thomas Harley, set in the last landscape that Lancelot 'Capability' Brown completed. Behind the plain exterior, with its four-columned portico reached by a dozen steep stone steps, are delicate plasterwork ceilings and a glazed dome over the staircase hall. Brown's parkland runs down to a serpentine pool that is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and the garden holds a traditional orchard, a kitchen garden, a very rare curved walled garden and a new flower garden. Families get a play area and a den building walk, and dogs are welcome on the parkland trails. Reviewers praise the friendly staff, the walled garden and the two easy walks to the lake. Tips from regulars: the car park fills on bank holidays, the tea-room is in the old servants' hall down seven steps with a lift on request, and there is no gift shop, only the second-hand bookshop.