House & Gardens Visiting

How to Book your Tickets to The House

We are moving to an entirely online booking service so that we can manage the capacity of visitors to maintain social distancing, both within the House and Gardens and at the entry points.

Due to the current opening arrangements and the need to purchase all tickets in advance, no other discount offers (with the exception of Friends of Burghley and Historic House Members) are available at the present time.

1. A pre-booked time slot for each person visiting - including children. Children under 3 do not need an Annual Pass or Friends card, but do need to reserve a time slot. Time slots for your visit will be released weekly on Monday mornings at 11am for the week (starting from the Saturday following) in advance. There is no charge for booking your time slot.

2. A valid Annual Pass e-ticket, (all tickets to the House are classified as an Annual Pass), valid Friends of Burghley membership, or HH Card. If you do not already have a valid Annual Pass, Friends card or HH membership card, you will need to purchase an Annual Pass per visitor. Annual Pass tickets purchased this year will be valid for 365 from the date of purchase allowing you to visit for the remainder of this open season and return next season as well.

What will be open:

The House: will be open from Wednesday to Sunday with timed ticket slots between 10.30am and 4pm. Last entry will be 4.30pm. The House closes at 5pm. The House will close on 11th October 2020 until March 2021.

The Brewhouse visitor centre will be open for checking your tickets, however the Ancestors in the Attic audio visual introduction and the Treasury Exhibition will remain closed.

All the State Rooms are open and you are welcome to wander through them at your leisure, spending as long as you wish to view them. Our knowledgeable guides, wearing appropriate PPE, will be available to provide information on the history of the House and the collections throughout your visit.

For the wellbeing of all our visitors and staff we are requesting that all visitors to the House wear a face covering. These are also available for purchase at the Brewhouse entrance, Courtyard Shop or Garden Shop.

The Gardens: Your House and Gardens ticket also allows access to the Gardens. The Garden of Surprises will be open, although there will be limited access to certain areas and no contact with water features. To maintain your safety, the children’s paddling area, maze and viewing mound will be closed. The Sculpture Garden will be fully open including our new areas of herbaceous planting and a selection of new sculpture.

You are welcome to visit the Gardens on the day of your House visit either before or after your visit to the House, but please note the Gardens and the Garden Shop are closed between 1 and 2pm. If you wish to visit the Gardens on a different day you will need to book a separate timed ticket slot for the day you wish to visit. Please see our Gardens visiting page for more information on the Gardens.

The Parkland: remains open daily from 7am to 6pm with no admission fees or parking charges. You are welcome to visit the Park before or after your House visit if you wish. Please note that dogs are permitted in the Park but must be kept on a lead at all times. No dogs are allowed in the Gardens.

Where to Eat: The Orangery Restaurant will be open - Wednesday to Sunday from 10.30am to 4.30pm. The Restaurant will be serving a range of takeaway hot and cold drinks, sandwiches and snacks. You are welcome to eat these in the Orangery, Rose Garden or elsewhere in the Park. The Shed remains open in the Park from 10.30am to 4.30pm supplying takeaway teas, coffees, cakes and ice creams.

Where to Shop: The Courtyard Shop will be open from Wednesday to Sunday 10.30am to 5pm. You do not need a timeslot ticket to visit the Shop. Numbers will be limited to 8 people at one time and you are required to wear a face covering for the wellbeing of all our visitors. The Garden Shop is open seven days a week 10.30-4.30pm, but please note that it is closed between 1 and 2pm.

What happens when you arrive and what to expect:

Please remember to bring your time slot reservation ticket along with your Annual Pass eticket or Annual Pass wallet, Friends or HH card to the Brewhouse visitor entrance to be scanned. Time slot reservations can be shown on mobile phone or by printed copy.

We wish to provide you with a contactless experience and are unable to provide you with any physical tickets at the entry point. However, if you wish to visit the Gardens we can re-scan your original ticket.

Please note that we will be unable to look up your existing Annual Pass details on entry. Please email burghley@burghley.co.uk in advance of booking your time slot for help in obtaining a copy of your original eticket.

Maintaining your safety on arrival

Please be assured that there will be a member of our team at the entrance, behind a perspex screen wearing the recommended PPE, to welcome you and to be available should you need any assistance.

You will see hand-sanitiser stations around the site, which we encourage you to use.

We have placed distance markers and will be using signs to encourage anyone queuing to maintain a 2-metre gap. However, pre-booking an arrival slot online will help us to manage the flow of people through the Brewhouse entrance and into the House. Every measure we have put in place is in line with current government guidelines.

An information miniguide and map to the gardens is available to download for free from our website and we recommend you do this in advance of your visit. There is no public wifi available in the House. A physical version of the mini guide is available at the entrance if required. Guidebooks will also be available for sale at the Brewhouse entrance and the Shops.

We look forward to seeing you soon

Thank you for taking the time to read through this and digest all the information. We look forward to seeing you in the very near future.