Cambridge and its surrounding countryside offer an exceptional concentration of historic estates, landscaped gardens, and grand country houses that tell the story of England’s aristocratic, architectural, and cultural heritage.
For guests seeking a refined base from which to explore these treasures, University Arms provides an elegant starting point. From the city centre escape into tranquil landscaped grounds and historic properties filled with decorative arts and period furnishings. What a treat.
The area is rich with heritage and attractions perfect for day trips, weekend excursions, and luxury cultural breaks.
Below is a curated guide to some of the finest stately homes near Cambridge, ideal for visitors interested in history, architecture, gardens, but most of all quintessentially English countryside experiences. Make sure to stop by the cafés to devour and compare their scone offerings.
Anglesey Abbey – Winter Gardens and Jacobean Elegance
Just a short journey from Cambridge lies Anglesey Abbey, a stunning National Trust property combining a Jacobean style house with beautifully maintained gardens and woodland walks. Known particularly for its winter garden, Anglesey Abbey is famous for its snowdrops, structured hedging, and year-round colour. Often a seasonally appropriate sculpture trail to enjoy as you wander the grounds as well as a woodland play area and den building area it is perfect for a family day out.
Anglesey Abbey is a 22 minute drive from University Arms
Wimpole Hall and Estate – The Largest Stately Home in Cambridgeshire
Wimpole Hall and Estate is one of the most impressive country estates in East Anglia. This expansive National Trust estate features a grand neoclassical mansion, working farm, walled gardens, and sweeping parkland designed by Capability Brown.
Visitors can explore opulent interiors, meet rare breed animals, and enjoy miles of walking trails across one of the region’s most complete historic estates. It is a must visit for anyone interested in English heritage estates and countryside grandeur.
Wimpole Hall and Estate is a 25 minute drive from University Arms.
The Manor, Hemingford Grey – A Literary Historic Gem
The Manor, Hemingford Grey is one of the oldest continuously inhabited houses in England, with origins dating back nearly 900 years. This enchanting manor is closely associated with writer Lucy Boston, whose “Green Knowe” children’s novels were inspired by the house and its gardens and whose intricate patchworks are on display at the house.
Unlike larger estates, Hemingford Grey offers an intimate and atmospheric experience, blending medieval architecture with romantic gardens filled with topiary, roses, and hidden corners.
The Manor, Hemingford Grey is a 33 minute drive from University Arms.
Audley End House – A Jacobean Masterpiece
Just outside Cambridge in Essex sits Audley End House, one of England’s grandest Jacobean country houses. Once a vast mansion rivalling royal palaces, Audley End is renowned for its lavish interiors, sweeping staircases, and beautifully restored service wing.
The estate also includes landscaped gardens, a Victorian kitchen garden, and regular historical reenactments that bring its rich past to life. If you have little ones with you, trot over to the stable yard and meet the magnificent resident horses, then run over to the wooden play area, inspired by the property and includes its very own mansion to climb and wooden horses to ride.
Audley End House is a 33 minute drive from University Arms.
Wrest Park – French-Inspired Garden Grandeur
Wrest Park offers one of the finest examples of French style formal gardens in England. The long canal, elegant parterres, and neoclassical mansion create a strikingly continental feel just a short drive from Cambridge.
Inside the house, visitors can explore richly decorated interiors reflecting centuries of aristocratic life. Wrest Park is particularly popular among garden enthusiasts, architecture lovers and more recently Bridgerton fans as some rooms and exteriors were featured as the home of the Fuller family in the Netflix series.
Wrest Park offers a variety of free tours from wallpaper tours, garden, tree and statue tours and even a household servants tour. Simply check the dates and times they’re available when you’re planning your visit.
The spacious café within the Walled Garden offers locally sourced produce, with indoor and outdoor seating overlooking the children’s play area. Families with energy to burn can grab an activity backpack and an audio trail designed for kids, and head out to explore the grounds. There are more than 40 statues dotted around the grounds. Can you find them all?
Wrest Park House is a 1 hour drive from University Arms.
Kentwell Hall – Tudor Life Brought to Life
Kentwell Hall is a beautifully restored Tudor manor known for its immersive historical events and costumed interpretations of Tudor and Victorian life. Visitors can step back in time through living history days, where crafts, cooking, and daily life are recreated with remarkable detail by over 200 of Kentwell’s skilled Living Historians.
The Hall has been home to a succession of owners, with each having left their own mark. Bought in a near derelict state by Patrick and Judith Phillips in 1971 when they embarked on a grand scale restoration of the Hall and Gardens, while making it their family home. The owners occasionally give fascinating and personal tours of the House.
The house itself is surrounded by moats, gardens, and parkland, offering a quintessential East Anglian heritage experience. Unexpected surprises can be found at every turn, for both adults and children, from the brick paved Maze in the Courtyard to the huge, topiary Yew Castle.
Kentwell Hall is a 1 hour, 6 minute drive from University Arms.
Elton Hall – A Romantic Country Estate
Elton Hall is a historic country house near Peterborough and has been the home of the Proby family since 1660. Standing in landscaped parkland beside the River Nene, the hall combines architectural features from the 15th, 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, creating a distinctive blend of medieval, Gothic and Victorian styles.
Generations of the Proby family enlarged and remodelled the house, adding grand interiors and extensive art collections with works by artists such as Gainsborough, Reynolds and Constable, along with three libraries holding more than 10,000 books.
The restored gardens feature formal borders, topiary, lily ponds, a knot garden and a Gothic orangery. Still privately owned and occupied today, Elton Hall opens to visitors during the summer and offers a fascinating insight into over 500 years of English history.
For cricket fans the grounds of Elton Hall provide a picturesque setting for the Elton Park Cricket Club. Friendly matches are played on various dates throughout the summer and is a lovely spot for a summer evening's cricket.
Elton Hall is a 52 minute drive from University Arms.
Burghley House – Elizabethan Splendour
Burghley House has a jam packed events calendar, there truly is something for everyone from classic Ibiza to birds of prey to wildflower walks at dawn. One of the grandest Elizabethan houses in England, built between 1555 and 1587 for William Cecil, the chief adviser to Elizabeth I. It is a masterpiece of Tudor architecture and one of the finest surviving examples of a sixteenth century prodigy house. Designed in a grand Tudor style, the house features magnificent state rooms, ornate ceilings, and an internationally important collection of paintings, furniture, and ceramics. The surrounding parkland was landscaped by Capability Brown and includes beautiful gardens, lakes, and woodland walks making it the perfect location for these varied and popular events.
Burghley House is a 1 hour, 4 minute drive from University Arms.
Kirby Hall – Ruined Renaissance Grandeur
Kirby Hall is one of England’s finest surviving Elizabethan country houses, located near the village of Gretton and close to Corby. Construction began in 1570 for Sir Humphrey Stafford and was later expanded by Sir Christopher Hatton, one of Elizabeth I’s closest advisers and Lord Chancellor. The house became renowned for its innovative architecture and grand state rooms designed to impress royal visitors.
Although now partly roofless, Kirby Hall remains an impressive romantic ruin. Its magnificent courtyard, Great Hall and state apartments survive, while the formal gardens have been restored to reflect their late seventeenth-century appearance. James I visited the house nine times between 1608 and 1624, making it an important royal residence of the period. You’ll also find out about the people connected to Kirby Hall across the centuries, including the black servant James Chappell, a local hero who rescued the fourth Sir Christopher and his daughters from disaster. Today, the hall is managed by and offers visitors a fascinating glimpse into the grandeur of Tudor and Stuart England.
Kirby Hall is a 1 hour, 12 minute drive from University Arms.
Peckover House – Georgian Elegance in Wisbech
Peckover House and Garden is a beautiful Georgian townhouse in the heart of Wisbech. Built in 1722, it became the home of the Peckover family, a prominent Quaker banking family, who lived there for around 150 years. Despite its modest exterior, the house contains elegant period rooms, fine plasterwork, a library and displays reflecting the family’s banking, charitable and cultural interests.
The property is especially famous for its Victorian walled garden, covering more than two acres and featuring roses, an orangery, rare trees, lawns and colourful borders. Given to the National Trust in 1943, Peckover House offers visitors a fascinating glimpse into Georgian life and the history of one of Wisbech’s most influential families.
Peckover House is a 1 hour, 24 minute drive from University Arms.
Sandringham Estate – The Royal Country Retreat
Sandringham House is the private country retreat of the British Royal Family and has been owned by the monarchy since 1862. Set within a vast estate in Norfolk, the house is renowned for its elegant interiors, royal collections and beautifully maintained gardens. The estate is closely associated with Christmas celebrations of the Royal Family and remains one of the most famous royal residences in the United Kingdom.
During a visit, you can expect to tour the house's state rooms, explore formal gardens, walk woodland and parkland trails, and visit the museum displaying royal vehicles, memorabilia and historical exhibits. With events and experiences running throughout the year check their website to see what’s on the day of your visit; a stunning destination for history enthusiasts, garden lovers and families alike.
Sandringham Estate is a 1 hour, 16 minute drive from University Arms.
A Luxury Base for Exploring Historic Estates
Staying at University Arms Hotel Cambridge places guests at the centre of one of England’s most historically rich regions. With excellent access to Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire, and beyond, it is an ideal base for exploring stately homes, manor houses, and royal estates.
Whether you are drawn to the grandeur of Burghley House, the intimacy of Hemingford Grey, or the royal heritage of Sandringham, each destination offers a distinct window into England’s architectural and cultural legacy.
For visitors seeking heritage tours near Cambridge or stately home day trips from Cambridge, University Arms provides the perfect starting point for an unforgettable journey through Britain’s most treasured country estates.
Top Tip - If you are planning on visiting a selection of these properties look into becoming a member of the National Trust or English Heritage.