Skip to content
Banburyshire
A vast classical stone front with a six-columned portico at the top of a wide flight of steps, under a blue sky

Mark Percy, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Things to do

Stowe House and Gardens

Two attractions on one estate, about 30 minutes east of Banbury: Stowe House, a Grade I palace run by an independent charity and shared with a school, and the National Trust's landscape gardens around it. Separate tickets, entrances and parking.

Price band 2 of 4 Verified Nov 2026

Family-friendly · Dog-friendly · Walker-friendly

Give it a whole day or do not go: the gardens are the bigger draw, and the house rewards the longer tour. The split catches people out. National Trust membership covers the gardens only, Historic Houses covers the house only, and it is still a working school.

  • Good: House open most of the year, and tours as short as 20 minutes
  • Good: The Trust lets dogs on leads into the gardens
  • Worth knowing: Two tickets: the Trust and the house charge separately
  • Worth knowing: House closed 30 November to 26 December 2026; weekends only from 4 January to 28 February 2027
  • Worth knowing: A working school: the house can close at short notice, so check the calendar
  • Worth knowing: Dogs not in the State Rooms or museum; assistance dogs only in the house

About

Stowe is an eighteenth-century palace and landscape near Buckingham, about 17 miles (27km) by road and 30 minutes east of Banbury. It is two attractions, run by two charities. The National Trust holds the gardens and parkland. An independent charity, the Stowe House Preservation Trust, restores and opens the house, which Stowe School also lives in.

The house

Stowe House is what the Temple family's money made, from a house of 1680 for Sir Richard Temple to the palace the Temple-Grenvilles finished. The family had held a share of the manor at Burton Dassett, near Banbury, from 1559, and leased Stowe in 1571. Debts brought Christie's in to sell most of the contents in 1848, and in 1921 the estate went to a developer, who stripped the fittings before selling it on. Stowe School opened in 1923 with 99 boys, which helped save the place from demolition.

The Preservation Trust has restored the state rooms since 1997. You see the Marble Saloon, a domed room modelled on the Pantheon with a frieze of over 280 plaster figures, the State Library with its mahogany cases, the Blue Room, the North Hall with William Kent's ceiling, and the State Dining Room, finished in 2023. Tours run at two lengths, 20 minutes for three rooms or 45 minutes for the full story, and in school holidays you can usually go round at your own pace with a map. The history museum is in the Visitor Centre.

Tickets go on sale 30 days ahead through the house's own site. Adults paid £9.50 and children aged 6 to 16 paid £3 as read in November 2026, with National Trust members at £7.50 and Historic Houses members free. From 3 March to 26 October 2026 it opened daily from 10.30am to 4.30pm, with last admission at 4pm, and it was closed on 22 May.

The gardens

The gardens are the National Trust's, and you can only enter them from New Inn, the Trust's visitor centre. His son, another Sir Richard Temple and later Viscount Cobham, employed Vanbrugh, William Kent and Lancelot 'Capability' Brown here, and the school gave the freehold to the Trust in 1989. Historic England registers the landscape Grade I.

The Trust's page gave an adult ticket at £18, or £19.80 with Gift Aid, in October 2026, with a child at £9 and members and under 5s free. From 24 October 2026 the garden, park, café and Parlour Rooms open 10am to 4pm. The garden is about 800m from the car park, with shuttle buggies on request, and parking at New Inn is free for everyone. Dogs on leads may go almost everywhere except the café.

Doing both

Start at New Inn, walk the gardens, and book a house tour for the middle of the day. Keep two things apart when you budget: a National Trust member still pays for the house, and a Historic Houses member still pays for the gardens. Silverstone Museum and Sulgrave Manor are on the same side of Banbury.

Opening hours and season

House: to 29 November and 27 December to 3 January, 10.30am to 3.30pm; closed between; weekends only 4 January to 28 February 2027. Gardens (Trust): 10am to 4pm from 24 October 2026.

Facilities

  • House parkingFree; house-only visits by the school entrance, MK18 5EH, on request
  • Gardens parkingFree at New Inn for members and non-members, with eight EV charging bays
  • CaféThe Trust's, at New Inn; hot meals noon to 3pm; shuttle buggies to the garden on request
  • ToiletsAccessible toilets in the house's Visitor Centre and on the house's ground floor
  • Dogs on leadsTrust gardens, parkland, shop and Parlour Rooms (not the café), and the house's Visitor Centre

The details

Time to allow
A whole day for both; 45 minutes for the house's long tour
Features
Garden or terrace · Café · Shop · Parking · Guided tours · Views
History
House from 1680; school since 1923; gardens National Trust since 1989
Parking
For both, go to New Inn. For the house alone, use the private school entrance, MK18 5EH, and ask first (houseinfo@stowe.co.uk) or choose parking when you book.

Photos

  • A curving colonnade of pale columns around a striped lawn, a stone lion on a plinth in the foreground
    The colonnade on the north front of Stowe House Photo: Des Blenkinsopp, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  • A pale roofed stone bridge with arches and columns, framed by fresh green trees, a tower far off behind
    The Palladian Bridge in the gardens at Stowe Photo: IanChristopherWeston, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  • A rough stone grotto with a dark round opening, reflected in a still pool scattered with leaves
    The Grotto in the gardens at Stowe Photo: Simon Mydliar, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  • A rust-brown Gothic building with two towers, low sun blazing through its windows, sheep on the grass in front
    The Gothic Temple at Stowe, low sun through its windows Photo: IanChristopherWeston, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Location

Map showing where Stowe House and Gardens is
© OpenStreetMap contributors

Accessibility

  • Accessible toilet
  • Assistance dogs welcome

The house has wheelchair access to all floors, with two lifts, though some floors are uneven. The Trust's gardens are only partly accessible, with gravel, hoggin and grass paths and some steep slopes, about 800m from the car park. The Trust lends a mini-crosser and a manual wheelchair free if booked ahead, and shuttle buggies run on request.

Questions about Stowe House and Gardens

Is Stowe House part of the National Trust?

No. Stowe House is run by the Stowe House Preservation Trust, an independent charity, and shares the building with Stowe School. The National Trust runs only the gardens and parkland around it, so the two charge separately.

Can you visit Stowe House and Stowe Gardens on one ticket?

No. Stowe House and Stowe Gardens need separate tickets. Adults paid £9.50 for the house as read in November 2026, and the Trust's page showed £18 for the gardens in October 2026. Go in by New Inn for the gardens.

When is Stowe House open?

Stowe House opened daily in summer 2026, 10.30am to 4.30pm. From 27 October it opens to 3.30pm, shuts from 30 November to 26 December 2026, then keeps weekends only from 4 January to 28 February 2027. It is a working school, so check the calendar.

Where do you park at Stowe?

Park at New Inn if you want the gardens, or both. For a visit to Stowe House alone, use the private school entrance at MK18 5EH, and ask for parking first by email or when you book.

Can you take dogs to Stowe?

Yes, to the gardens. The National Trust allows dogs on leads in Stowe Gardens, the parkland, shop and Parlour Rooms, though only assistance dogs in its café. At Stowe House they may go in the Visitor Centre only, and just assistance dogs may enter the house.

Places to stay nearby

  • A field packed with tents and flags at dusk, a large blue tent in front and trees behind

    Silverstone Woodlands

    Camping · Silverstone

    An event campsite south of the circuit by Club Corner, for the Grand Prix, MotoGP, the BRDC Classic and more, with your own tent, a pre-pitched one or a bell tent camp at F1. Street food, live music and big screens at race weekends. Interest-free payment plans.

    Verified Nov 2026

  • A long brick hotel with white dormers and a car park, a golf course and woods behind, seen from above

    Silverstone Golf Club and Hotel

    Hotel · Silverstone

    A four-star golf club hotel, by its own description, on Silverstone Road opposite the circuit near Club Corner. Breakfast and parking are included, check-in is contactless, and the club also runs an official Grand Prix campsite on the same ground.

    Family-friendly

    Verified Nov 2026

  • A row of white motorhomes along a green field under banks of cloud, a flag flying

    Silverstone Golf Club Camping

    Camping · Silverstone

    The golf club's own Grand Prix campsite, opposite the circuit and named on Silverstone's 2027 stays page, about 10 minutes' walk from the track. There are marked pitches from £375, hook-up, bell and touareg glamping tents, food and bars, by Silverstone's own page.

    Verified Nov 2026

Nearby walks, places and things to do

In our stories

More like this

Ask this business a question

Don't miss a thing

What is on, what is new and what is in season in Banburyshire, in your inbox about once a month.

About once a month. Unsubscribe at any time.