National Trust - Knole
We are very lucky to have a selection of amazing National Trust spaces near our home, and as members of the National Trust we pop in to many local places when we have time to spare.
One favourite for us is Knole Park, in Sevenoaks. Less than a 35 minute drive sees us arriving at Knole, where there are acres of parkland to walk, surrounded by herds of deer! It is close enough for us to drop in for coffee, and large enough for a day out. We can picnic in the grounds, or visit the house and tower. 
Take in the scale and magnificence of this 600-year-old estate with its courtyards, showrooms, Gatehouse Tower and acres of parkland... a remarkably preserved early Jacobean remodelling of a medieval archbishop's palace. From an even older manor house, it was built and extended by the Archbishops of Canterbury after 1456. During the Tudor dynasty it became a royal residence when Henry VIII hunted there and found it to be a good home for his daughter - later to become Mary I - during his divorce from her mother, Catherine of Aragon.
In 1946 Knole was gifted to the National Trust to be opened to the public. The private apartments were leased back to the current owners, the Sackville-West family, who also kept ownership of most of the parkland, the wild deer herd and the contents of the house.
To find out more about the Knole and other National Trust places to visit, including membership visit https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/
*This is an odd entry system and it has been noted that many non-member passengers exit the car before the entry gate and walk in free of charge if they do not want to visit inside any of the buildings. They then either walk up the hill to the car park, or re-enter the vehicle once it is inside the gates. To reduce the use of cars on-site you can park in town and walk, but Knole might want to review this change to find a better system to reduce car travel to the park.