10 Stunning Country Wedding Venues In The UK
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1 month ago
Add some countryside charm to your special day
Wedding season is upon us and, whether you’re expecting a special someone to pop the question or you are already well in the depths of planning, there’s no harm in day-dreaming about an idyllic wedding. Old stately homes, green fields stretching for miles, wildflowers in your hair: if a country wedding is what you’re looking for, we’ve rounded up the loveliest country wedding venues to inspire, awe, and book.
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Cornwell Manor (photo by Phoebe Piper)
Cornwell Manor, Cotswolds
If you’re dreaming of an intimate summer wedding in the countryside, Cornwell Manor will fulfil your fantasies. Dating back to the 17th century, this family-owned country house is set across 2,000 lush acres near idyllic Chipping Norton, with far-reaching, romantic views over a series of lakes. The manor is available for hire from May to October (although it can be leased on special request throughout the year), and sleeps up to 24 guests in its 12 rooms – lending an air of exclusivity to this very British experience.
That’s not to say that this venue caters exclusively to smaller wedding parties. A Norman church awaits your nuptials less than 200 metres from the manor, housing up to 80 guests, while the ballroom lets you say ‘I do’ in front of 100. Outdoors, you can even set up a marquee for your 300 nearest and dearest to celebrate the night away together, while the gardens and the croquet lawn will help the happy couple make the most of the summer sun as it glistens on the swimming pool.
You can add your fairytale wedding day to the property’s storied history. The main house is early Georgian, while parts of the garden, the ballroom, and the swimming pool were designed by Clough Williams Ellis, creator of Wales’ Italianate Portmeirion village. (The manor has also had its fair share of screen time; this bucolic wedding venue has appeared in the Christmas hit The Holiday, as well as BBC series Father Brown.)
And with famous farm shop and spa Daylesford Organic plus revered luxury members’ clubs Soho Farmhouse and Estelle Manor – as well as plenty of picture-perfect villages, gourmet pubs and countryside walking routes – just a stone’s throw away, there’s plenty of opportunities to extend the wedding celebrations either side of the big day.
Details: Exclusive hire rates from £36,750 plus VAT for a three-night stay in 2027 | Cornwell, Chipping Norton OX7 6TT
Goodnestone Park
Goodnestone Park, Kent
Those looking for a quintessential English country wedding venue, look no further. A former haunt of Jane Austen, Goodnestone Park is a grand and impressive stately home sitting within delightful landscaped gardens in the heart of Kent. You’ll have exclusive use of the 12-bedroom manor house throughout your stay, with Bonnington Cottage available to rent as extra accommodation. For civil ceremonies, there’s the light and airy Coach House which can fit up to 100 people, while the Portico offers a gorgeous alfresco alternative. Those keen for a traditional service, there’s the Church of the Holy Cross just a short picturesque walk from the estate. The upcoming launch of The Orangery, meanwhile, offers a sophisticated and stylish reception venue, with ample space for sit-down dinners and dancing.
Details: Goodnestone, Mansion CT3 1PE
Holkham Hall
Holkham Hall, Norfolk
Holkham Hall is a stunning 18th century Palladian countryside manor house immersed within acres of rural splendour. With six different wedding venues, four spectacular state rooms and a traditional church located just half a mile from the Hall, this regal rural estate is the perfect place to say ‘I do’. Breathtaking parkland rolls into the rugged Norfolk coastline, creating an idyllic background – along with a magnificent marble hall.
Details: Holkham Road, Wells-next-the-Sea NR23 1AB
Hamswell House (photo by Sarah Gray)
Hamswell House, Bath
Your first sight of Hamswell House’s honey-coloured stone façade comes at the end of the estate’s winding, wooded drive. It’s a romantic aspect: the historic 16th-century manor house is set in 50 acres of private land and gardens in the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (read: the dream country wedding venue), and offers sweeping views of across the Hamswell Valley to the Westbury White Horse. It’s quite simply one of England’s most beautiful and enchanting houses, so admired that it’s been used in many a film and TV show over the years, including in Tess of the D’Urbervilles, the BBC adaptation with Eddie Redmayne and Gemma Arterton.
Within easy reach of Bristol, Bath and the M4, Hamswell House is the family home of Rupert and Victoria Legge, who will ensure that your wedding has every last personal touch. As Rupert says, ‘Hamswell House is our much-loved home, not a commercial venue. It’s what makes it so special for your wedding.’ You will have exclusive access to the grounds for the entire day, so guests can explore the lovely walled gardens with the 200-year-old wisteria on the pergola, the knot garden and the 18th-century water garden with its waterlilies and Neptune fountain. For the ceremony, there is the 18th-century orangery with a Cotswold stone roof and huge arched windows leading onto a lawn to accommodate extra guests. For the wedding breakfast, there is a splendid marquee that can seat 200. You’re free to bring your own champagne as they don’t charge corkage.
Details: Hamswell House, Bath BA1 9DG
Cluny Castle
Cluny Castle, Aberdeenshire
Cluny is an enchanting historic castle – complete with turrets – dating back to the 14th century and hidden in over 200 acres of parkland. Its charm lies in the fact it’s also a lived-in and well-loved family home – Cosmo Linzee Gordon, the young laird, had his own wedding there. Cluny has its own licensed chapel within the castle, which seats 120 guests. Directly below the chapel is the Tenants’ Hall, with stained-glass, mullioned windows that echo the chapel. It can accommodate 94 guests for dinner and parquet flooring makes it ideal for dancing.
For small weddings of up to 24 people, guests can use the beautiful dining room and drawing room. For big weddings, Cluny offers a variety of sites for a marquee, all enjoying magnificent views of the castle, which is always available as a backdrop for wedding photographs. Guests can choose any size, layout, theme or style of marquee, and even specify clear windows and roof to take advantage of long Scottish summer sunsets and scarlet night skies. Cosmo insists that the only limit to guests’ choices is their imagination.
Details: Cluny Castle, Sauchen, Inverurie AB51 7RT
Wild Thyme & Honey, Cotswolds
Following a multi-million-pound refurbishment, Wild Thyme & Honey is now home to three magical event spaces: Wild Thyme & Honey Event Suite, The Secret Garden Room (for intimate ceremonies of up to 20), and The Courtyard. Catering for up to 140 guests and home to 24 luxurious rooms and suites – including No. 3 London Road, their exclusive honeymoon suite (a sumptuous four-poster bed, spacious living room, dressing and makeup area, barrel sauna, jacuzzi and outside patio) – Wild Thyme & Honey is perfect for a wedding weekend.
The wedding concierge bring years of experience with an address book brimming with helpful, reliable, and trustworthy relationships including, but not limited to; stylists, floral designers, photographers, all manner of entertainment, set designers and much more, whilst the award-winning culinary team are committed to creating exquisite dishes and the perfect menu tailored to suit all tastes and preferences.
Details: Ampney Crucis, Cirencester GL7 5RS
Coworth Park, Berkshire
Set in 240 acres of stunning parkland just crying out for a wedding photoshoot, Coworth Park is a mere 45-minute drive outside of London. Offering completely bespoke weddings in some of the most beautiful hotel grounds England has to offer, there are a host of options, whatever the size of your nuptials.
Available for exclusive hire for wedding parties subject to availability, there are a total of 70 guest bedrooms across the estate. Smaller weddings can make the most of the stunning Dower House, built in 1775 and home to the hotel’s signature suite.
Details: Blacknest Road, Sunningdale, Ascot SL5 7SE
Primrose Hill Farm (Chloe Ely Photography)
Primrose Hill Farm, Oxfordshire
Just 60 minutes from London, Primrose Hill Farm is a stunning, Grade II listed farmhouse and contemporary barn conversion nestled in rural Oxfordshire, making an idyllic country wedding venue. Couples and their guests can enjoy exclusive run of the house and barn for the entire weekend, ensuring the celebrations don’t need to be cut short. The family-run farm offers a familiar, relaxed approach to their tailor-made service that runs from the first visit through to the end of the wedding stay. The Farm Barns, formerly hay barns, feature simple vaulted interiors of lime washed timber paired with expansive glass walls and roaring log fires which all make gorgeous backdrops for the wedding photos.
Details: Arlescote, Banbury OX17 1DQ
Barnsley House
Barnsley House, Gloucestershire
Once the home of celebrated garden designer Rosemary Verey, Barnsley House is exactly the sort of rambling, quietly elegant home that seems made for weddings. In fact, as Verey cultivated wild lavender borders, tumbling roses, and curtains of ivy that drape coquettishly over a crumbling arboretum, it’s difficult to imagine she wasn’t purposely fashioning an idyll for nuptial bliss. Inside, you’ll find 18 elegantly appointed bedrooms, all with wide stone fireplaces, and a small bar serving pre-and post-dinner tipples. There’s also The Potager restaurant, where fresh ingredients are served up straight from the recently revived kitchen garden. Here a wedding breakfast for up to 70 can be held. Ceremonies for up to 120 are possible in a marquee in the 11 acres of storybook-beautiful grounds.
Adding to the higgledy-piggledy charm of Barnsley House, guests approach the property via a pretty driveway at what was originally the back of the house. Tucked away, Tardis-like, in quaint, pretty outbuildings, you’ll also discover the secret spa, where any pre-wedding stresses can be smoothed away with Elemis treatments, or by a bracing dip in the outdoor hydrotherapy pool as the occasional cow nods its head over the fence to say hello. The magic of this Cotswolds hideaway lies in its atmosphere, and of taking over your very own country pile for the weekend, rather than a hotel. An unforgettable day, after all, calls for an unforgettable location. One can’t help but think Verey would be proud.
Details: Barnsley, Cirencester GL7 5EE
Kin House
Kin House, Wiltshire
When it comes to country wedding venues, the recently restored Kin House is the pinnacle of Georgian luxury. The Grade II listed Wiltshire manor house sits on the edge of the pretty village of Kington Langley, and is set within walled gardens and private woodland. Painstakingly and sensitively restored to its former glory, the stunning interiors are led by the British design studio Barlow & Barlow.
Attached to the side of Kin House is Kilvert Hall with space for up to 200 people to dine and dance until late. Launch parties, weddings or cocktails for a crowd – whatever the brief, they can host it. There’s even a stage for live music. For a more intimate event, there is also the Hearth Room with vaulted ceilings and an original 18th century fireplace. A talented in-house team of chefs create menus and feasts for any occasion. Offering everything from whole joints of meat cooked over fire to abundant family fare or pizzas from the wood oven. The team will work with guests to plan the ultimate party spread.
Details: Kington Langley, Chippenham SN15 5NA
