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Visiting Stowe House

Come and explore Stunning Stowe

Stowe is set in the beautiful countryside of North Buckinghamshire, 3 miles outside the old county town of Buckingham. Click here for map and transport information. For opening times please click here and for admission prices please click here.

The restoration work of Stowe House, which began in 2000, has not only returned certain areas of the House back to its former glory, but has also increased disabled access and thus improved the visitor experience. This work does, however, at times impede on our usual tour route.

When the House is open in term time for 2.00pm and 3.00pm guided tours only, access to the State Rooms can be restricted. Visitors to the House are able to see some or all of the eight State Rooms on the Piano Nobile, taking the route that would have been used by visitors to the House in the eighteenth century. In addition to our guided tours, visitors are able to learn more about the origins of the House, the people who owned it and the recent restoration in our Interpretation Centre, the main visitor entrance to the House. This is a mixture of interactive, audio-visual and pictorial information designed to enhance your enjoyment and understanding of Stowe House. A small range of Stowe House products is available for sale in the Interpretation Centre during opening hours.

Please note that since all the furniture and House contents were sold off in the sale of 1922, there is very little original furniture in the House. The House is known for its spectacular neo-classical interiors and the magnificent views from and towards the House.

New entrance at New Inn

With the exciting opening of New Inn by the National Trust in February 2012, the whole orientation of the estate will change from the north side to the south side. This means that the new visitor entrance, New Inn, is up by the Corinthian Arch, seen in the distance as one drives out of Buckingham. The New Inn is a £3 million restoration and rebuild of a coaching inn that was built by Lord Cobham in 1717, initially to house servants of overflow guests, and then from the 1730s as the entrance onto the Stowe estate for tourists. Guidebooks from the period helped the visitor to understand the meanings behind the monuments and temples, and later, listed the contents of the state rooms of the House.
The New Inn and the Landscape Gardens are now open 7 days week and the House is open from Sunday to Thursday. Please note the all visitors except pre-arranged groups will enter onto the Stowe Estate via the New Inn (with the restaurant, shop, Welcome Room and ‘dressed’ rooms to explore). Please allow enough time to look around the New Inn, catch the land train from New Inn to Bell Gate, look around the Gardens and then visiting the House. Approximate timings are as follows (walking at a leisurely pace):
New Inn to Bell Gate (downhill) 10 – 15 mins landtrain available
Bell Gate to New Inn (uphill) 15 – 20 mins landtrain available
Bell Gate to the South Front of Stowe House via the Rotunda and the Grotto (gradual incline) 20 – 30 mins
South Front to Bell Gate via the Temple of Ancient Virtue and Elysian Fields (gradual decline) 20 – 30 mins
Please allow a minimum of an hour and a half to explore the Gardens and 45 mins for free flow in the House (guided tours last 45mins). We suggest that you allow a day for your visit to Stowe to get the most out of it and to discover New Inn.

Tours

From November through to February, there is a 2.00pm public guided tour every day that the house is open. From March through to October, here is an additional 3.00pm guided tour.

The guided tours provides an aspect of the history of the House and family, lasting approximately 45 minutes. We are currently developing themed tours which will be advertised on our Opening Times calender when ready.

During 1.00pm -5.30pm opening in addition to the guided tours, specialized tours will run on of either the Chapel or the Gothic Library as available. No pre-booking is required and those days will be avaliable on the Opening Times calender.

There is no extra charge for the tours and no pre-booking is required. Tickets for the House can be purchased either at the National Trust Visitor Centre or at the House entrance on the day.

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See inside the house

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History of the house

Discover the rich and diverse history of Stowe House.

Restoration Update

Find out more about the restoration of Stowe House.

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