National Trust · Cranborne Chase & West Wiltshire Downs National Landscape
Six National Trust places inside the Cranborne Chase & West Wiltshire Downs National Landscape boundary, all free to members.
The six are King Alfred's Tower, Stourhead, Philipps House, Melbury Down, Badbury Rings and Kingston Lacy.
Distances and facilities last checked October 2026
Six National Trust places sit inside the Cranborne Chase & West Wiltshire Downs National Landscape boundary, from King Alfred's Tower in the north to Kingston Lacy in the south. Two of them are within four miles of a mainline railway station, and one has a café.
King Alfred's Tower: A 160-foot folly designed by Henry Flitcroft for Henry Hoare II in 1772 and reached on a circular woodland walk. Stourhead: Grade I listed Neo-Palladian mansion with celebrated 18th-century landscape garden, lake and follies. Philipps House: A Neo-Grecian house set within rolling parkland near Dinton. The three are about 16 miles apart from first to last, so they fit into one day.
Melbury Down: Open chalk downland with flower-rich grassland and long views across the Dorset countryside. Badbury Rings: An Iron Age hillfort in chalk grassland, with surviving ramparts and ditches and protected wildlife. Kingston Lacy: Kingston Lacy is a 17th-century country house near Wimborne Minster, Dorset, with a major art collection including Rubens and Van Dyck. The three are about 12 miles apart from first to last, so they fit into one day.
Many places open fewer days or close for part of the winter, so check opening times before you travel.
Photo: Vauxford, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Kingston Lacy is a 17th-century country house near Wimborne Minster, Dorset, with a major art collection including Rubens and Van Dyck. 6.0 miles from Hamworthy station. Has a café and car park.
6.0 miles from Hamworthy · Café · Parking
Read our guide →Photo: Jon Wornham, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Grade I listed Neo-Palladian mansion with celebrated 18th-century landscape garden, lake and follies. 5.2 miles from Gillingham (Dorset) station.
5.2 miles from Gillingham (Dorset)
Read our guide →Photo: Simaron, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
An Iron Age hillfort in chalk grassland, with surviving ramparts and ditches and protected wildlife. 7.1 miles from Hamworthy station.
7.1 miles from Hamworthy
Official site →Numbers match the map above. Distances are to the nearest railway station, in a straight line.
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National Trust members get into all six for free, and parking at Trust car parks is free too. Some places are open land with no entry charge, so check each place before you go.
Is National Trust membership worth it? →Two day routes, each built from places close to each other. Distances between stops are in a straight line, so allow more by road.
Day 1 · Northern group
About 16 miles from first stop to last.
Day 2 · Southern group
About 12 miles from first stop to last.
Coming from further away?
Enter your start and end points in the journey planner. It lists every place within 5, 10 or 20 miles of your route, in the order you will pass them.
Six sit inside the Cranborne Chase & West Wiltshire Downs National Landscape boundary: King Alfred's Tower, Stourhead, Philipps House, Melbury Down, Badbury Rings and Kingston Lacy.
None is within 2.5 miles of a railway station. The closest is King Alfred's Tower, 3.6 miles from Bruton.
Kingston Lacy has a café.
King Alfred's Tower, Stourhead and Philipps House are about 16 miles from first to last. Melbury Down, Badbury Rings and Kingston Lacy are about 12 miles from first to last.
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