Cliveden

Cliveden sits high above the Thames at Taplow, an Italianate mansion rebuilt by Charles Barry in 1851 and later home to the Astor family, whose house parties made it a byword for political glamour and, in 1961, the setting for the Profumo affair. The house is now a hotel, so the National Trust visit is all about the 375 acres of formal gardens, woodland and riverbank: the Parterre, the restored Long Garden, Lord Astor's sculpture collection, the water garden and the Cliveden Maze, which reviewers rate a highlight for adults as much as children. Families get play areas and self-led trails, and dogs are welcome on the woodland walks with a free walking map from reception. Regulars single out the boat trips on the Thames, run in season with skippers full of estate stories, and picnics on the riverbank. Tips from visitors: the car park is a fair walk from the gardens, so wear sensible shoes, and there is more here than an afternoon allows.