Illustration — photo coming soon
Heading towards Radway, you'll find Upton House, a National Trust property that combines a significant art collection with impressive gardens and countryside walking routes.
The house was built as an elegant country estate and became home to Walter Samuel, the second Viscount Bearsted, who gathered an exceptional array of Old Masters paintings, French porcelain, and European tapestries throughout his life. These works are displayed across the rooms, offering visitors a genuine sense of how a wealthy twentieth-century collector lived and what mattered to him artistically.
The gardens are equally rewarding. Terraced beds descend steeply through herbaceous borders and a working kitchen garden before opening onto a broad lawn with a lake at its base, all overlooking the Warwickshire landscape beyond. Several walking routes lead through the estate grounds, including a designated Ley Line Walk that takes you through woods and fields. The walk is named after the traditional concept of ley lines connecting ancient sites across the land, and whether or not you believe in their historical significance, the route itself provides a thoughtful way to move through the property and its surroundings.
This is the sort of place where you can easily spend a full day, mixing indoor exploration with outdoor wandering. The tea-room offers refreshments when you need them. Upton House sits within easy reach of Banbury, Southam, and Shipston-on-Stour, making it a straightforward addition to a wider Cotswolds visit.
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