The National Trust is Europe’s largest conservation charity looking after historic sites and natural landscapes in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. 2025 marks the 130th birthday of the National Trust. This is one of a series of blogs on great days out at some of the less well known National Trust properties. The National Trust is famous for its conservation of large, stately homes and gardens. These are amazing places but sometimes overshadow smaller hidden gems. In this series of guides I highlight the top National Trust places to visit that are not all stately homes. Some are very quirky places to visit, some are ancient sites in the care of the National Trust, others are 20th century homes. In this guide I explore homes of famous authors but also read my guides to inns, islands and sites that celebrate the industrial heritage of the UK.
This guide to great days out at some of the less well known National Trust properties will explore the top 5 homes of famous authors in the care of the National Trust as well as helping you work out whether National Trust membership is worth it:
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Why these 5 homes of famous authors in the care of the National Trust are worth a visit
The works of these famous authors are bound to have touched your life in some way, either as a child or more recently as an adult. Many of the characters in their books are timeless and have been re-imagined for generation after generation. Peter Rabbit, Hercule Poirot, the Jungle Book have all gone from the pages of books in the early 1900s to our screens in the 2000s. The homes of these authors often inspired their creativity and provided a space to retreat to recharge their imagination. A day trip to one of these National Trust properties will get you up close to the authors’ personal havens and possessions and perhaps also some of the characters that we all know and love.
The top 5 National Trust day trips to the homes of famous authors
1. Beatrix Potter, one of the most famous children’s authors of all time, was inspired to create many of her famous characters at Hill Top bought using the income from her first books, including the famous ‘Tale of Peter Rabbit’. The Lake District location influenced her stories even as a child when holidays to the Lake District stimulated her natural creativity. Beatrix Potter’s stories are brought to life through the many objects on display and her belongings. She cherished the landscape and way of life so much that, as her success continued, she acquired additional land and farms in order to protect them from development. Upon her death in 1943 she donated 15 farms and cottages and 4000 acres of land to the National Trust which continues to preserve them to this day.
3. Thomas Hardy, famous author and poet, designed Max Gate in the late 1800s where he wrote some of his most famous novels including ‘Tess of the d’Urbervilles’ and ‘Jude the Obscure’. Max Gate is a large, Victorian town house, a short distance from the centre of Dorchester, Dorset. Thomas Hardy played host to other influential people of the time at Max Gate, including Rudyard Kipling and T. E. Lawrence (the renowned Lawrence of Arabia), and lived at Max Gate until his death in 1928.
4. Rudyard Kipling, author best known for ‘The Jungle Book’ and ‘Just So Stories’, lived at Bateman's, a Jacobean house in the Sussex countryside, dated 1634. Buying it in 1902, after falling in love with it at first sight, Rudyard Kipling described Batemans as having good ‘Feng Shui’, and lived there with his wife for the last 34 years of his life. His study looks just as he left it with his writing desk and book-lined walls. Batemans is surrounded by an enormous 12 acre garden including a water garden, orchard and wild flower meadow, all surrounded by fields and woodland which provided much needed privacy for Rudyard Kipling and his family.
5. T. E. Lawrence, aka Lawrence of Arabia, used Clouds Hill as a retreat from Army life until his death in 1935. The small cottage is set in woodland and was furnished simply for relaxation including reading in The Book Room, taking a hot bath and listening to music. Any guests could sleep at the cottage but Lawrence always slept at his Army barracks in Bovington Camp. Whilst here you can also climb the small hill next to the cottage to enjoy the tranquillity of the woodland setting.
You may be interested in my other day trip guides to places managed by the National Trust:
Stay in a National Trust owned property
You can turn your National Trust day out into a short break by booking a National Trust holiday cottage, campsite, glamping site or bothy. The National Trust also owns five hotels, including three Historic House Hotels so that you can stay in your own little piece of history: