Visit most of Britain’s great houses open to the public, and you get a ticket desk, a gift shop and a rope keeping you a polite distance from the furniture; a handful work differently. The family that has owned the place for centuries still lives there and farms the land, and the way in is through the food: a pub, a grill, a walled garden that grows what lands on the plate. For an American who has already toured the castles and cathedrals, this is what the next trip is for.

Large historic manor with red brick and timber detailing, tall chimneys, and a central clock tower, surrounded by manicured hedges and gardens under a partly cloudy sky.
Some of Britain’s oldest family estates figured out how to let strangers in without selling out. Photo credit: Madresfield Court.

Originally published on fooddrinklife.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.

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