An interesting question I often get asked by friends is what is the most popular National Trust property. The National Trust is a charity based in the United Kingdom that owns and manages a large portfolio of historical places that people can visit. They have well over four hundred properties currently, with more being added each year. Members of the National can visit their properties for free, while non-members have to pay a small fee to enter usually around £10-£15 for each adult.
Visitor Numbers
The table below lists all of the National Trust properties that had over 50,000 visitors in 2021. Now these figures are a little low compared to the years before this due to the pandemic. In the United Kingdom at the beginning of 2021 a lock down was in place. The National Trust closed most of its properties, people were unable able to visit these places due to fear of spreading the virus. The list is sorted from most popular property at the top, descending in visitor numbers as you go down the list. The second coloum in the table is the amount of visitors in 2021, and the third coloum is the average number of visitors that property received per day.
| Attingham Park | 518,863 | 74,123 |
| Cliveden | 441,133 | 63,019 |
| Dunham Massey | 439,767 | 62,824 |
| Clumber Park | 350,188 | 50,027 |
| Calke Abbey | 315,150 | 45,021 |
| Polesden Lacey | 287,837 | 41,120 |
| Anglesey Abbey | 269,029 | 38,433 |
| Fountains Abbey Estate | 264,542 | 37,792 |
| Sheffield Park | 256,822 | 36,689 |
| Belton House | 245,228 | 35,033 |
| Wimpole Estate | 235,239 | 33,606 |
| Kingston Lacy | 234,307 | 33,472 |
| Nymans | 228,929 | 32,704 |
| Stourhead | 222,283 | 31,755 |
| Lyme | 220,390 | 31,484 |
| Stowe | 213,721 | 30,532 |
| Ickworth | 203,967 | 29,138 |
| Tyntesfield | 199,170 | 28,453 |
| Mottisfont | 192,901 | 27,557 |
| Gibside | 192,771 | 27,539 |
| Shugborough Estate | 181,541 | 25,934 |
| Croome | 175,270 | 25,039 |
| Mount Stewart | 170,366 | 24,338 |
| Dyrham Park | 159,349 | 22,764 |
| Quarry Bank | 157,678 | 22,525 |
| Wallington | 155,618 | 22,231 |
| Kedleston Hall | 154,396 | 22,057 |
| Chartwell | 154,364 | 22,052 |
| Hardwick | 141,643 | 20,235 |
| The Vyne | 140,610 | 20,087 |
| Charlecote Park | 140,504 | 20,072 |
| Cragside Estate | 137,255 | 19,608 |
| Baddesley Clinton | 135,135 | 19,305 |
| Hanbury Hall | 134,206 | 19,172 |
| Claremont Garden | 130,672 | 18,667 |
| Winkworth Arboretum | 128,950 | 18,421 |
| Packwood House | 125,718 | 17,960 |
| Corfe Castle | 117,581 | 16,797 |
| Killerton | 116,135 | 16,591 |
| Blickling Estate | 115,535 | 16,505 |
| Scotney Castle | 115,202 | 16,457 |
| Basildon Park | 113,514 | 16,216 |
| Hatchlands | 113,512 | 16,216 |
| Sissinghurst Castle Garden | 111,723 | 15,960 |
| Hughenden | 104,938 | 14,991 |
| Rowallane Garden | 100,709 | 14,387 |
| Hinton Ampner | 99,340 | 14,191 |
| St.Michael’s Mount | 99,133 | 14,162 |
| Speke Hall | 97,388 | 13,913 |
| Standen House | 95,142 | 13,592 |
| Hidcote | 93,815 | 13,402 |
| Emmetts Garden | 91,955 | 13,136 |
| Bodnant Garden | 91,133 | 13,019 |
| Petworth | 88,600 | 12,657 |
| Lacock | 86,995 | 12,428 |
| Ham House | 82,948 | 11,850 |
| Greys Court | 79,160 | 11,309 |
| Felbrigg Hall | 78,187 | 11,170 |
| Wentworth Castle Gardens | 77,448 | 11,064 |
| Coughton Court | 77,165 | 11,024 |
| Biddulph Grange Garden | 75,269 | 10,753 |
| Castle Ward | 74,925 | 10,704 |
| Dunster Castle | 74,738 | 10,677 |
| Beningbrough Hall | 74,247 | 10,607 |
| Knightshayes Court | 74,073 | 10,582 |
| Osterley Park | 74,064 | 10,581 |
| Montacute House | 70,704 | 10,101 |
| Trelissick | 68,966 | 9,852 |
| Ightham Mote | 67,413 | 9,630 |
| Bodiam Castle | 66,757 | 9,537 |
| Dudmaston | 64,290 | 9,184 |
| Giant’s Causeway | 62,643 | 8,949 |
| Dyffryn Gardens | 61,574 | 8,796 |
| Wightwick Manor | 59,030 | 8,433 |
| Upton House | 58,256 | 8,322 |
| Croft Castle | 53,967 | 7,710 |
| Sizergh | 53,045 | 7,578 |
| Erddig | 52,108 | 7,444 |
| Powis Castl | 50,821 | 7,260 |
| Sutton Hoo | 50,775 | 7,254 |
What is the most popular National Trust Property
As you can see from the table above the current most popular National Trust property is Attingham Park in Shrewsbury, Shropshire. It was actually quite a long way in front of the property in second place with around 15% more visitors than Cliveden in Maidenhead, Buckinghamshire. Nearly 20% of the National Trust properties managed to make this list with over 50000 visitors in 2021 even with the reduced numbers that was caused by the pandemic.
Here is some background on Attingham Park. The house currently at Attingham Park was built around 1785 for Noel Hill the 1st Baron of Berwick. The estate that is sits on is vast with over 4000 acres of land. The house it’s self is Grade 1 listed, but there also a further seventeen buildings inside the park with a Grade 2 listing.
Useful Links
My bucket list to visit every National Trust property – Link
Join the National Trust – Link