Blickling Estate is one of England's great Jacobean houses, built between 1616 and 1627 for Sir Henry Hobart by Robert Lyminge, the architect of Hatfield, on the site of an earlier manor claimed as the birthplace of Anne Boleyn. The Long Gallery runs beneath an elaborate plaster ceiling and shelves a library of some 12,500 books, among the most important in the Trust's care; reviewers often find conservators cataloguing the collection in the room. Philip Kerr, Marquess of Lothian, left the whole estate to the National Trust in 1940. Outside are the parterre, orangery and secret garden, a lake with long walks around it and bluebell woods in spring; bikes, including electric ones and children's trailers, can be hired for the estate trail, and mobility scooters are available. Visitors praise the volunteers and the second-hand bookshop. Tips from regulars: dogs are welcome in the parkland but not the formal garden or cafes, so dog owners take turns, and the volunteer-run RAF Oulton museum does not open every day.
