Friday 9 October 2026 - A Visit to Killerton

So we've nearly finished in Devon and are on our way home. We paused at Killerton House, not least to try out their tea room.

Whilst there we looked around the house. Unusually, the library contained many books that I remember from my childhood and remain in our bookshelves at home. They only had one copy of the Observers Book of Automobiles whereas I have five different editions. However, Killerton wins 2-0 regarding editions of the Observers Book of Dogs.

It was good to be able to handle the books, and to receive guidance from the knowledgeable volunteers. The Acland family lived here until fairly recently, and the house contains the National Trust's largest fashion collection under one roof.

We went for a short stroll to the chapel, which is currently being repaired.

There's more information on this interesting place, here, and the National Trust's 'flier' reads as follows:

Would you give away your family home for your political beliefs? Sir Richard Acland did just that with his Killerton Estate in the heart of Devon, when he passed it on to the Trust in 1944. Today, you'll find a friendly Georgian house set in 2,600 hectares (6,400 acres) of working farmland, woods, parkland, cottages and orchards.

Killerton house is home to the National Trust's biggest fashion collection, with more than 20,000 items of historic clothing and accessories. The core collection was begun by Paulise de Bush before it was first shown at Killerton in 1978. Head to the first floor of the house to immerse yourself in the annually changing fashion exhibition.

There's plenty of calm space in the glorious garden, beautiful year-round with rhododendrons, magnolias, champion trees and formal lawns. You can explore winding paths, climb an extinct volcano, discover an Iron Age hill fort and take in distant views towards Dartmoor.

Then we continued our journey to Solihull, visiting Sue's mother there.