A few weeks ago we were looking for somewhere new to explore near us. 2020 has been all about exploring our local area. We’ve discovered some lovely places in West London and were keen to visit somewhere new to us. We didn’t have to venture too far to find Osterley Park in West London. Owned by the National Trust, we pre-booked our slot, and headed out for the day.

Exploring Osterley Park West London

The National Trust’s Osterley Park and House, is in Isleworth, West London. It comprises of a Georgian estate in gorgeous parkland. Like so much of London, the grounds are now surrounded by housing, but it’s a definite jewel in the area. Like all National Trust properties, you will need to pre-book your slot. There is a small car park within the grounds which you can pay to use. We parked up, put on our walking boots and set off to explore with the children and our pup.

We didn’t realise that the car park was quite so far from the ticket office. We walked past the huge lake with beautiful views over parkland and the house, before getting to the ticket office. Make sure if you pre-book you give yourself plenty of time to get to the house. We didn’t realise you could walk through most of the parkland for free, and the place was very busy with families enjoying a Sunday afternoon walk.

We thought the house looked quite unusual with its hugely imposing front steps. Sadly it is closed for now, but it’s definitely somewhere we would love to visit one day. The ticket office was just to the right of the house, and we showed our tickets and they let us pass through to the gardens behind the house.

The gardens were much quieter and we loved exploring all the different parts. All the pathways were open, including the play trail, however the rope swings and the Temple of Pan were currently closed.

We had actually taken a picnic and we found a bench around a tree where we sat and ate it. The views from the house were lovely although we didn’t walk the mile-long Long Walk, with its beautiful views of the rear of the house this time. We loved the walled garden and the children enjoyed spotting all the different birds flying around. They found painted rocks and we also found a geocache which kept them busy.

We all enjoyed our visit, there was plenty to see and do.

As well as the gardens, the toilets were open and the cafe was open for takeaways. The Christmas lights were just beginning to come on as we were leaving which added a little extra sparkle to our visit.

Osterley House and Gardens are currently hosting a Peter Rabbit Trail, similar to the one we recently did at Hughenden Manor. My daughter really enjoyed the trail and it’s on until January if you are looking for something fun to do over the Christmas holidays.

Find out more about Osterley Park and House and how to pre-book tickets on the National Trust website.