You have to register your car in the gift shop. The car park is free, and that is the catch.
“Strawberry Hill House & Gardens’ carpark is free for visitors. Spaces are limited and parking may not be available during particularly busy periods. Visitors must register their vehicle in the gift shop when they arrive.”
Free parking in this part of London is worth having. Registering it in the shop is the sort of step people skip, and the sort that generates a notice through the post.
There are three Blue Badge spaces, and the satnav postcode is TW1 4ST.
When it fills, the house’s own advice is to go to Twickenham town centre, 15 to 20 minutes’ walk via Cross Deep and Waldegrave Road, where there are pay and display car parks. Some nearby roads have no parking controls.
Book online or pay more and risk the door
“Book online for the best price and guaranteed entry, tickets from £16.50 when booked online. Tickets purchased on arrival cost more and are subject to availability.”
Two penalties for turning up: a higher price and no guarantee of getting in at all.
Concessions exist for students, children, members, carers, Richmond Card holders, National Art Pass holders and English Heritage members, all listed on the booking page rather than the visit page.
UK taxpayers can add Gift Aid, which lets the house claim an extra 25 per cent from HMRC. It is an independent museum, so that matters more here than at a national one.
Closed Monday and Tuesday, and last entry is an hour early
House and shop: Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm, last entry 4pm.
Five days a week, and a full hour between last entry and closing.
The café keeps different and longer hours:
Café: Wednesday to Friday 9.30am to 5pm, Saturday and Sunday 9am to 5pm. Hot food until 3pm.
So the café opens half an hour to an hour before the house, and hot food stops two hours before closing. A late lunch here is a cold one.
The lift does not reach the second floor
Specific, and it tells you exactly what you will and will not see.
“Inside the House the ground floor is completely accessible, and a lift gives access to the first floor, where the majority of our rooms are located.”
Then: “Unfortunately, the lift does not give access to the second floor and therefore three rooms are inaccessible.”
Three rooms out of the whole house is a far better position than most Georgian properties manage, and the house is clear that most of its rooms are on the first floor, which the lift does reach. Ask a member of staff to use it.
Outside: the garden and café are wheelchair accessible via a smooth path without steps, though crossing the garden means going over lawn, which can be uneven.
No cloakroom, no large bags, no buggies
All three for the same reason.
“We do not have a cloakroom in the House. Due to the fragile nature of the House, we kindly ask that visitors do not bring large bags into the House.”
“Buggies are not permitted in the House, but can be parked in our front of house area or in our onsite buggy park, located at the entrance.”
So there is somewhere to leave a buggy and nowhere to leave a bag. Travel light, and bring your ticket printed or on your phone. If you have booked for other people, make sure they know whose name the ticket is under.
Open to visitors for over 250 years
The house’s own claim, and it is the most interesting thing about it.
“Strawberry Hill House & Garden has been open to visitors for over 250 years.”
This is Horace Walpole’s Gothic villa in Twickenham, the building that largely invented the Gothic Revival in domestic architecture, and it was receiving visitors in Walpole’s own lifetime rather than becoming a museum later.
That continuity is the thing to hold in mind walking round it: the rooms were designed to be shown.
Four trains an hour from Waterloo
Better connected than its position suggests.
Trains run a circular route from London Waterloo to Strawberry Hill, four an hour Monday to Saturday and two an hour on Sundays. The station is a 5 to 10 minute walk, signposted from the end of each platform.
By Underground: District line to Richmond, then the 33 towards Fulwell or the R68 towards Hampton Court. Get off the R68 at Popes Grotto and the 33 at Strawberry Vale.
On foot it is 15 minutes from Twickenham, 50 minutes from Richmond, and two hours from Hampton Court Palace along the Thames Path.
That last one is the walk worth knowing about: a two hour riverside route between two great houses, with no road walking.
There are bike racks in the car park, and good routes from Kingston, Hampton Court, Richmond and Twickenham. Bring your own chain.
How to plan it
Driving: register the car in the gift shop when you arrive. Parking is free but limited.
Book online. It is cheaper and it guarantees entry.
Closed Monday and Tuesday. Last entry 4pm.
Hot food stops at 3pm, though the café opens before the house does.
Leave the big bag at home. There is no cloakroom.
Buggy: park it at the entrance, not inside.
Using the lift: ask a member of staff. It reaches the first floor but not the second.
Making a day of it: walk the Thames Path from Hampton Court, about two hours.
Strawberry Hill House & Garden
- Address
- 268 Waldegrave Road, Twickenham, London TW1 4ST
- Nearest
- Strawberry Hill, a 5 to 10 minute walk, with four trains an hour from Waterloo Monday to Saturday and two on Sundays. Or District line to Richmond then the 33 or R68 bus
- Hours
- House and shop Wednesday to Sunday 10am to 5pm, last entry 4pm, closed Monday and Tuesday. Cafe Wednesday to Friday 9.30am to 5pm and Saturday and Sunday 9am to 5pm, with hot food until 3pm
- Booking
- Online for the best price and guaranteed entry. Bring the ticket printed or on a phone
- Price
- From 16.50 pounds booked online, with tickets bought on arrival costing more and subject to availability. Concessions for students, children, members, carers, Richmond Card, National Art Pass and English Heritage. Gift Aid can be added by UK taxpayers
- Standing
- Horace Walpole’s Gothic Revival villa in Twickenham, open to visitors for over 250 years, with a garden, cafe and shop
How to get in
The car park is free but spaces are limited and visitors must register their vehicle in the gift shop on arrival. Tickets bought at the door cost more and entry is not guaranteed. There is no cloakroom and large bags are discouraged because of the fragility of the house, and buggies are not allowed inside but can be left in the buggy park at the entrance. The lift reaches the first floor, where most rooms are, but not the second, leaving three rooms inaccessible. Hot food in the cafe stops at 3pm, two hours before closing.
Where to go next
Hampton Court Palace is two hours along the Thames Path, and Syon Park and Osterley are the other west London houses.
Richmond Park and day trips from London cover the rest of the area.
Questions we get asked
Is parking free at Strawberry Hill House?
Yes, but with two conditions. Spaces are limited and may be unavailable at busy times, and visitors must register their vehicle in the gift shop on arrival. There are three Blue Badge spaces and the satnav postcode is TW1 4ST. When the car park is full, Twickenham town centre has pay and display parking 15 to 20 minutes' walk away.
How much is Strawberry Hill House?
From £16.50 when booked online, which is both the cheaper price and the only way to guarantee entry. Tickets bought on arrival cost more and are subject to availability. Concessions are available for students, children, members, carers, Richmond Card holders, National Art Pass holders and English Heritage members.
What days is Strawberry Hill House open?
Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm, with last entry at 4pm. It is closed Monday and Tuesday. The café keeps longer hours, 9.30am to 5pm Wednesday to Friday and 9am to 5pm at weekends, but stops serving hot food at 3pm.
Is Strawberry Hill House wheelchair accessible?
Largely. The ground floor is completely accessible and a lift reaches the first floor, where most of the rooms are, though staff need to be asked to operate it. The lift does not reach the second floor, so three rooms are inaccessible. The garden and café are reached by a smooth step-free path, but crossing the garden means going over lawn, which can be uneven.
Can you take bags and buggies into Strawberry Hill House?
Buggies are not permitted inside but can be left in the buggy park at the entrance or in the front of house area. There is no cloakroom, and because of the fragility of the house visitors are asked not to bring large bags in, so there is nowhere to leave one.
How do you get to Strawberry Hill House?
Strawberry Hill station is a 5 to 10 minute walk, served by a circular route from London Waterloo with four trains an hour Monday to Saturday and two on Sundays. Alternatively take the District line to Richmond then the 33 bus towards Fulwell or the R68 towards Hampton Court. On foot it is 15 minutes from Twickenham and two hours from Hampton Court Palace along the Thames Path.
Written by Robert J Wills, no. 369 in the guide.
Last checked 6 October 2026 against the venues' own published information. Nobody pays to appear here and we take no bookings.
