A Day in the Country: Sissinghurst House and Gardens

The over-the-top, romantic home of poet/writer/lover/aristocrat Vita Sackville-West

"The thing to remember about this garden is that in 1930, there was no garden.” —Vita Sackville-West

Where is it?

Nestled deep in the Kentish countryside (and less than a one hour train ride from London), Sissinghurst was the home of poet/writer/lover/aristocrat Vita Sackville-West and where she and her husband Harold Nicolson created one of England’s most romantic refuges.

Why go?

Because it’s heart-stopping charm will awaken the most philistine of souls. Because the red brick Elizabethan tower dates from the 16th century and you can glimpse Vita’s famous writing room and then climb to the roof and gasp at the storybook Kentish countryside. Because the Long Library is a decorating masterclass in how to make an awkwardly-shaped room feel like there’s no place you’d rather be. Because it was roused from centuries of sleeping ruin through Vita and Harold’s hands-in-the-dirt dedication and is the living embodiment of where her heart at long last found a home.