althorp house

The house and gardens are beautiful, what more can I say? Simply stunning. The gardens seem especially beautiful! Just a shame the weather wasn't kinder!

I very much Enjoyed my visit to Althrop. The grounds were beautiful and the Princess Diana Memorial was worth a visit!!!!!

Dear HarryDee,Thank you very much for your kind comments, it's wonderful to hear you enjoyed visiting the House and grounds so much.We look forward to welcoming you back to Althorp in the future.With best wishes,James WardGeneral Manager, Althorp

Dear Miracle1Bucks,Thank you very much for your review. We're so pleased you had such a wonderful time at Althorp.We very much look forward to welcoming you back in the future.Best wishes,James WardGeneral Manager, Althorp

Althorp House has been home to Spencer Family for 500 years and a great place to visit. Because the house is still lived in by the Spencer family it becomes less of a museum piece and more of a family home. The guides are welcoming and knowledgeable and there is much to see in the house and grounds. There is a cafe selling tasty snacks at a reasonable price and a gift shop catering for different tastes. A great day out.

We visited Althorp on a rainy day that was made much brighter by meeting Princess Diana's brother Lord Charles Spencer in the stable block tea room. He was most gracious and we talked briefly about the connection between the Spencer family and the Washington family (George Washington's ancestors) who lived at Sulgrave Manor. Althorpe House itself is beautiful and at the entrance is a small gift shop and the day we visited one of the Spencer children was assisting at the sales desk. All of the staff were so helpful and friendly that we felt very much at home. The path to Princess Diana's grave is so peaceful and lovely and one can see the island where she is buried but it is obscured by trees and bushes. Nelson Mandela also visited Althorp and as a tribute to Princess Diana planted a tree in her honor. At the entrance to Althorp there is an avenue of 36 oak trees planted by Lord Spencer for each one of the years of Princess Diana's life. There is also an exhibit of Princess Diana's life which is interesting to see. We were also fortunate to see the herd of black deer on the grounds of the estate. Althorp House which was built in 1508 has much to offer and I would love to return just to see the inside of the house again.....highly recommended.

A most wonderful visit to Althorpe for the annual literary festival. Tastefully organised and focusing on the author lectures rather than commercialism, we had the pleasure to hear Kate Adie talk about her most recent title and dine in a private room. A wonderful setting in a property genuinely inhabited by the Spencer family. A very special treat and well worth a visit.

Althorpe House was to be one of the high lights of our visit to the UK and like many others we were a little disappointed with the content. We did expect to see a little more do Diana's life on display. I am glad that I had contacted Althorpe prior to our visit to arrange disable access. Parking is at the front gate with quite a long walk to the house. With prior arrangements we were able to drive to the house and park close, unfortunately the house is not wheel chair friendly with access only to ground floor. As most of the open rooms are on the second floor this was disappointing. The cafe in the stable served good coffee and was well priced. Do stop in and have a walk around the little church as your turn onto the road leading to the house. Also the village is quite quaint. Whilst it was a nice day out I don't think I would return.

As a tour guide I am often asked to show clients the memorial to Lady Diana in Hyde Park. The water feature and surrounding area certainly has a special aura about it.Many also like to visit Kensington Palace.However, to really get a sense of a woman who did so much good a visit to her ancestral home - Althorpe, (about 1.5 hours drive from London) pays rich rewards.The house itself boasts a world class art collection as well as being a charming structure in its own right. Add to that stunning grounds and the special atmosphere which prevails around the oval pond upon which stands the memorial to Diana and you are looking at a memorable day out.Beyond those highlights is a beautifully curated exhibition of some prominent characters and moments in the history of a preeminent English family and a tastefully arranged cafe area for a spot of afternoon tea.The only drawback is the limited periods the house is open to the public but with a bit of planning this hurdle can be overcome.Beyond the estate is the local Parish church within which can be found tombs to former Earl Spencer's - there have been 8 before the current one.There is also a delightful pub in the adjoining village so there is more than enough to justify the sixteen junction trio up the M1 from London.

Easy parking but visited on a Saturday and a little surprised it did not open unti 1pm. As we had travelled from Lincolnshire this was not a problem as we arrived about the right time. If disabled you woukd be well entering the house gates as it is a reasonable walk from the car park.Entrance cost of £16 is in my opinion at the dear end for just a house with little planted garden, and four museum rooms in the stables.We thoroughly enjoyed our tour of the house and plenty of rooms are available for inspection. We would have like time to examine the china and other artifacts to the rear of the staircase hall. The walk to the lake where Princess Diana is buried on an island is pleasant. The exhibitions in the stables are reasonably informative. One rooms tells the Diana story but the funeral film was not working. Threre is a cafe and shop. Grounds are nearly all pain lawn with sweeping views.

Enjoyed spending the day at Althorp. The house is beautiful & we enjoyed the walk to the Diana temple.

Althorpe house was a stunning place.very serene and peaceful and a very unique coffee shop.parts of this estate make you stop in your tracks . definitely recommend.

We visited Althorp on Sunday August 24th. It was very easy parking in a field opposite the gates.Ita a fair way to walk from the gates to the house and less able bodied people would have to request that they take their car.The house is superb, it has a very warm and lived in feeling the guide was very knowledgable and you can't help but to be impressed.It's a short stroll to the island where Diana is supposed to be buried. It is a bit disappointing with only a single urn marking the spot.Don't go to Althorp expecting it to be shrine to Diana, it isn't, but it is a beautiful house if a bit on the expensive side.

The first thing to say is that public perception is that this was Princess Diana's childhood home. This is not true and I admire the family for not trying to pretend it was and making a false 'Diana bedroom' just to please visitors. It is, however, a pity that they have not made more gardens to walk around. The burial place of Diana is suitably hidden by large shrubbery and the lake was reasonably clean. The Diana temple was rather incongruous but I guess it is just a matter of taste. The house and its history was interesting and we had an excellent and enthusiastic guide called Ben. We could have been allowed a little more time to peruse each room after he had told us about it though. Everything looked to be in very good condition and is obviously still in use today. The toilets were very clean and the cafe small, but providing tasty treats. I do think it was expensive- nearly £20 each- but it was certainly worth a visit.

I had wanted to visit Althorp House for some time but was nearly put off by the negative reviews. I'm so glad I went: it was a lovely afternoon. I appreciate that, at the moment, the exhibition of Diana's dresses and childhood toys are not there but this didn't detract from the visit for us. It's an impressive entrance on walking to the actual house, beautiful peaceful surrounding countryside. The facilities (toilets, cafe etc) are exceptionally clean. The guided tour was very good and, despite the comments of some reviewers, I found it very informative and more personal than the usual National Trust system of a static guide in the corner of each room who is willing to answer questions. As to the algae around the lake, I could only see a few leaves. There was a real sense of visiting a place steeped in family history which continues to be a home. Wish I'd arrived earlier to make better use of the grounds. Glad to have visited and would recommend if you have any interest in the Spencer family history.