With its glittering golden walls in the Saloon to the carved reredos in the Central Hall, Polesden Lacey was designed to impress. Situated near Dorking in Surrey, Polesden Lacey was left to the National Trust by Mrs Greville in 1942. Dame Margaret Greville was a super-rich socialite who used the estate as her weekend retreat from which to entertain royalty, politicians and celebrities. Even the future King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, spent part of their honeymoon at Polesden Lacey.
Margaret and her husband Captain Ronald ‘Ronnie’ Greville commissioned the architects famous for remodelling the Ritz to do the renovations at Polesden Lacey. Ronnie died in 1908, the year before the work was completed. Mrs Greville held her first party a year or so later with the guest of honour King Edward VII. Future guests included the likes of Winston Churchill, Beverly Nichols and Queen Ena of Spain. Polesden Lacey was left to the National Trust 80 years ago so people could continue to enjoy this remarkable house and its estate.
Situated in Dorking, Surrey the Edwardian house is home Mrs Greville’s extensive collection of art and ceramics including world-famous Dutch old masters to sparkling Fabergé pieces. The house is currently closed due to Coronavirus but you can view the impressive collection here.
There’s a wealth of adventures to be had outdoors and did you know Poleseden Lacey holds a Guinness World Record for hill rolling? The small one (getting taller by the day!) loves doing exactly that and enjoying the giant swings in Admiral’s Walk. Mrs Greville used to throw a summer party for the local children and the National Trust has continued this legacy with the swings, natural play areas and a bird hide with a resident peacock.
Polesden Lacey’s 1,400 acre estate is part of the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with waymarked trails including Ranmore Common and the ancient woodland. There’s also a Wellness Walk which is just over 3 miles (5.5 kilometres) with 7 viewpoints along the way.
One of my favourite areas at Polesden Lacey is the gardens particularly during the summer as they are bursting with colour. Located just past the South Lawn, you can take in the double herbaceous border by the Sunken Garden and the Winter Garden before heading into the Walled Garden. The later is particularly spectacular at this time of year, encompassing the Iris and Lavender Garden, Kitchen Garden and the beautiful Rose Garden.
Polesden Lacey currently has a one-way system in place. We typically head to the gardens first and then head back towards the house for one of the waymarked trails. Stopping at the giant swings is, of course, obligatory and there’s ice-cream available nearby so that’s always a bonus on hot, sunny days. You do need to book Polesden Lacey at the moment – tickets are released every Friday for the following week. We’ve been a couple of times recently (during the week and on a weekend) and haven’t had any trouble getting tickets on the days we wanted.
If you’re not in the Surrey area, you can actually stay at Polesden Lacey. There’s Garden Cottage is a Regency-style villa by the rose gardens which has 3 bedrooms, sleeps 6 and offers gorgeous views across the estate. Alternatively, if you love the great outdoors as we do, there’s Embers Camping. Located on an existing campsite, you can hire a pre-pitched bell tent or sleep under your own canvas. Each pitch comes with a personal fire basket with wood available to purchase onsite. There are modern wash blocks with underfloor heating, home-made wood-fired pizzas and a shop that sells essentials such as coffee, ice-cream and snacks.
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