National Trust - Bateman's - Etchingham

Simon Richards

Even if you are unfamiliar with the genius of Rudyard Kipling this beautiful old house and lovely gardens are well worth a visit. If you have read Kipling then this is a special place, subsumed with his spirit. Very friendly and knowledgeable volunteer guides. Kipling's study, in particular, is memorable - perfectly preserved as he left it.

Naomi McAuliffe (Naomi Mack)

Lovely National Trust venue, previous home of Rudyard Kipling. Great exhibition of Jungle Book illustrations when we visited. Nice cafe and shop. You can always trust a National Trust scone!

Don't miss the mill and gardens out the back.

Best not to bring a backpack if possible as you'll be asked to leave it at the first room of the house, which is fine and perfectly safe. But bring a small bag if possible.

Andrew Thomas

Wonderful Jacobean house in a secluded setting, previously the home of Rudyard Kipling. The house itself is typically dark inside, and presented as it was in Kipling's time, while an exhibition room upstairs showcases numerous personal effects.
The surrounding gardens are very well kept, with plenty of colourful displays in the summer months. There's a longer walk around the estate, taking in the historic working watermill before heading out across pleasant open fields.
A standout National Trust property for the relaxed atmosphere, friendly volunteers and picturesque surroundings.
Facilities include a tearoom, ample on-site parking, gift shop and toilets.

Katie J

A beautiful manor home of Mr. Rudyard Kipling the famous writer of "The Jungle Book".
It's like going back in time of how the family lived. Everything is in its place like they've just popped out.

Absolutely stunning gardens to walk around to the Mill and to the trails. Perfect for picnics as the trees provide shade, plenty of benches and picnic tables around.

Staff are warm, welcoming, friendly and very knowledgeable. Happy to assist your needs with any questions.

Lovely tea room providing freshly homemade cakes, scones, sandwiches and provide hot foods like jacket potatoes and soup of the day.
For a single person's cream tea was £7.30 that's having a scone, butter, clotted cream, a choice from 4 different jams and a drink.

Suitable for all ages and for your fur babies too.

Disabled friendly, the first parking bay on the left as your drive up, is disabled parking only.
Plenty of parking further on.

W W Howe

The Sussex home if author Rudyard Kipling has much to offer.
The house is 95% as it was when the Kipling's resided there.
There were volunteer guides throughout the house who gave information and stories about the house and the family, it's really good to receive information in this way, much better than reading written information.
The gardens are not vast but still a good size and lovely to look around,even on a fairly wet day.
Don't forget to visit the watermill on-site and check out the beautiful car in the garage.
The property belongs to the National Trust, if you're a member it's free to enter and free to park in their good sized car park.
There is a nice tea room,toilet facilities are available.
I'm afraid wheelchair users and those with mobility problems would struggle in the house but would be able to enjoy the gardens

Ulrike Lengemann-Wiegand

What a lovely home with very engaged and knowledgeable volunteers. Kipling and his life story come alive. Plus we were really lucky with the weather and therefore enjoyed the wonderful garden and tea house.

Mark Westwood

An unexpected gem that provided far more of a visit than we had imagined. A combination of talks / briefs from the knowledgeable guides / hosts and interpretation provided an excellent insight into the history of the house as well as into Rudyard Kipling. You could spend many hours here.

Honeylette Romano

The children had so much fun. We had a quick picnic under a magnolia tree for some shade. It drizzled a little bit but it didn’t spoil the beautifully curated garden instead it elevated it more and made it look sparkly.