Kiplin Hall and Gardens

Kiplin Hall is a red-brick Jacobean house, Grade I listed, built between 1622 and 1625 for George Calvert, the first Lord Baltimore, whose family went on to found the American colony of Maryland. That link runs through the visit, with an exhibition on the Calverts and Maryland inside. The house owes its survival to Bridget Talbot, who set up the Kiplin Hall Trust in 1968 and left the contents to it, and the charity still runs it.

The furnished Victorian rooms hold portraits and Arts and Crafts pieces, and the Second World War left its mark too: the RAF requisitioned the Hall, and a wartime kitchen and bathroom survive. Outside there are walled and themed gardens, woodland and a lake. It makes an easy half day, with the tearoom open to all.

From Tea Time Cafe at 87 Market Place, Kiplin is about 30 minutes by car, heading north past Northallerton towards Scorton. Use DL10 6AT in a satnav. Parking is close to the front of the Hall and has recently been improved. Kiplin warns coach drivers to leave the A1 at Catterick rather than Leeming, because the route through Kirby Fleetham crosses a weight-restricted bridge.

Car-free, Kiplin names the 55 bus, which runs between Northallerton and Richmond. Take the train from Thirsk to Northallerton and check the 55 timetable both ways before you commit.

Arrive at 10am and do the gardens first, since the Hall does not open until 11am. The planting runs through rose, white, sensory and bog gardens, with herbaceous and hot borders, and the woodland and lakeside walks lead on from there. Then go inside for the Victorian rooms, the portraits and the Calvert and Maryland exhibition, and look for the surviving wartime kitchen and bathroom from the RAF years. Last admission to the Hall is 4pm.

For children there is a natural play area and garden games. The Play Ship is closed for repairs at the moment, so check before promising it. The tearoom in the Visitor Centre needs no admission ticket, and you can carry food from it out into the grounds, where there are tables and benches.

The Maryland story makes Kiplin different from the other big houses around Thirsk, and it gives the visit a thread to follow from room to room. The house itself is red Jacobean brick with a tower at the centre of each side, and the wartime kitchen and bathroom add a later chapter to its story. The gardens are varied enough to fill an hour on their own, with dogs welcome on a lead throughout the grounds.

Kiplin closes on Thursdays, so plan any other day of the week. The 2026 season is published as ending on Thursday 26 November, so ring 01748 818178 to confirm the last open day if you are going in that final week. After that it shuts until the 2027 season, and those dates have not been announced. Get there for 10am and walk the gardens before the Hall opens at 11am. Historic Houses members get in free on showing their card. Adding Gift Aid lifts the price by about a tenth but lets the charity claim more. The upper floors have no lift, and the one all-terrain wheelchair needs booking ahead. Under-5s have no published price, so ask when you book. Northallerton is on the way home for a market stop on Wednesday or Saturday.