Ickworth, Suffolk: A Family Day Out at the Hervey Rotunda (National Trust)

Ickworth is the eccentric, almost Italianate vision of the 4th Earl of Bristol — a vast central rotunda with two curving wings, set in 1,800 acres of Capability-Brown parkland a few miles south of Bury St Edmunds. It is unlike any other National Trust property in Suffolk: the State Rooms are small but unusually beautiful, the Italianate gardens behind the house are the real draw, and the parkland walks are easily the equal of any in East Anglia.

Visitor essentials

• Address: The Rotunda, Ickworth, Bury St Edmunds, IP29 5QE, Suffolk
• Operator: National Trust — www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/suffolk/ickworth
• OS map: OS Explorer 211 — Bury St Edmunds & StowmarketBuy from OS →
• National Trust members: free entry and parking on showing your card. Non-members pay the standard property rate at the gate.

What to expect on a family visit

Three to four hours is about right for a first visit. The State Rooms tour is short — under an hour — leaving plenty of time for the Italianate garden behind the rotunda and one of the parkland walks (the Albana Walk is the most popular; the Lownde Wood loop is the quietest). The estate is unusually pushchair-friendly for an East Anglian heritage property — wide, flat paths run between the rotunda, the West Wing and the Porter’s Lodge entrance. Cycle hire is available seasonally — worth checking the estate’s own page before you arrive.