A day at Temple Newsam: the house, Home Farm and the 19 bus

Temple Newsam is the big one on the east side: a Tudor-Jacobean house, a working farm and parkland landscaped by Capability Brown, all within the Leeds boundary. The council describes it as about five miles from the city. It has been called the "Hampton Court of the north" for over 500 years, which is a decent reference for a place you can reach on a bus.

The house

Art UK says the house has over 40 rooms of treasures, including Chippendale furniture, silver, ceramics, fine art and wallpaper. The Chinese Drawing Room, created by Isabella, Marchioness of Hertford, has rare Audubon bird prints. The oak staircase is Victorian, part of the Tudor and Jacobean revival work done to the interiors.

The history is a good one. Temple Newsam is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, and the Knights Templar once owned the land. Lord Darnley, father of James I of England, was born here in 1545. Leeds bought the estate in 1922 for £35,000, and the house opened to the public as a country house museum in 1923.

Prices for the house are £10.50 for an adult, £4.50 for a child (3 to 15) and £25.50 for a family ticket (two adults, three children). Leeds Card holders pay £8.40. Check the dates before you go: the Leeds Ticket Hub listing for standard house admission runs to Sunday 1 November 2026, and the council says Winter Tours run from the end of October half-term to February half-term, 11am to 3pm. Look at the council page for booking details.

On access, the house has lifts, but the second wing and cellar are not wheelchair accessible. Manual wheelchairs can be borrowed at the entrance, and electric wheelchairs are not allowed inside. Carers get free entry to the estate.

Home Farm

Home Farm is a working farm in cobbled yards, with buildings dating from 1694. It is described as one of the largest rare-breed centres in Europe. All the animals are native UK breeds, and most are classed as rare by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust. The Play Barn is in a former cow byre.

Admission is £9 per person, Play Barn session included, with under-3s free. A family ticket is £28.75 through the Leeds Ticket Hub. A joint house and farm ticket is £17.55 for an adult and £12.15 for a child. Halloween at Home Farm finishes on Sunday 1 November, and Christmas on the Farm runs from Tuesday 1 December to Thursday 24 December, both included in admission. Farm opening hours differ between council pages, so check the current winter hours before setting off.

The grounds

Access to the gardens is free, while the house and farm are charged. Parks & Gardens UK dates Capability Brown's plan to the 1760s and lists a landscape park, an 18th-century walled garden, a formal garden, lakes and rhododendron walks. Historic Houses gives the estate as about 1,500 acres, so there is plenty of room.

A circular walk runs past the house, through woodland, past Little Temple and back behind the Rose Garden and ponds, according to North Leeds Mumbler. There are also routes to Skelton Lake. Dogs are welcome in the grounds off the lead, apart from the courtyard, but not in the house.

Getting there by bus

The council says First buses 19 and 19A run to Whitkirk, a mile from Temple Newsam House. Discover Leeds gives the same advice: take the 19 or 19A from the city centre to Whitkirk, then walk about a mile. Check the Sunday times and fares on the First Bus site or the Metro journey planner before you go, as they change.

By train, the nearest station is Cross Gates, which the council puts at 1.5 miles away on its access page. Plan on a walk of around half an hour.

If you drive, parking charges apply: £1 for up to two hours, £2.50 for half a day and £4 for a full day, according to the Yorkshire Evening Post. Blue badge holders park free. The estate is just off the M1 at junction 46.

Practical details

• Address: Temple Newsam Road, Leeds LS15 0AE (Home Farm is LS15 0BG).
• House and farm hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10:30am to 5pm, last admission 4:15pm, according to the council visit page.
• Phone: 0113 336 7460, 10am to 4pm.

Allow a full day if you want the house, the farm and a proper walk. Do the grounds first if the weather is kind, and save the house for when it turns.