This is the 3rd year in a row we've been to see the Christmas display and thought how amazing it is. This year they are doing Narnia and what an amazing job they've done. As a family we usually visit 2 to 3 houses during Christmas and Newstead always stands out, for one we can all go as a family cheaper than one of us can to the other better known houses. The display is always more enjoyable because you follow the story of the particular theme they've gone with. In some of the other houses you go in and leave without an understanding of what the theme actually was. If you only want to visit one house at Christmas forget the bigger over commercialized houses and come to Newstead. Well done to everyone involved 👏👏👏👏👏

We visited as a family to see Narnia. We arrived at 10.15am had a lovely warm drink and cake and went into the house at 11am. Admittedly we were obe of the first people to enter but had no problems with viewing displays and the children of 10 and 6 wete also fascinated to see displays connected to Lord Byron. Excellent contributions by students from Nottingham Trent University. A wonderful experience. !!

What a beautiful place to visit! We were lucky enough to make time to visit the Abbey during the 'Narnia experience' after Christmas and it was amazing. The whole family, adults and children loved it. The effort put in to make it special was brilliant, staff must have worked hard at this. We spent an hour and a half in the Abbey but it really flew by! We hoped to have had a coffee and cake but the cafe was very busy.. our loss! Next time! Would recommend to anyone in the area or travelling to to take time to visit. We will be back in the summer to explore the gardens and enjoy a picnic. Thank you!

The Narnia/Christmas experience was yet again a great delight! Such thought, skill and detail had gone into every aspect. Our 3 grandchildren ages 10, 6 and 3 thoroughly enjoyed it too explaining details to the rest of the family later. Well done to all the students and staff who had worked so hard, a lovely day out, great value too.

I love visiting Newstead, it’s one of my special places and has a unique atmosphere. The only reason I’m deducting a star is due to the attitude of one member of staff in the cafe when I visited today. To be clear, the younger members of staff are fab and really helpful, but the woman at the pay point was abrupt and rude. I’ve seen several other reviews citing problems with staff in the cafe and wonder if it’s the same person. Customer care plays a huge part in the whole Newstead experience. So, come on Newstead, make sure your customers are being treated well or at the very least, make sure your customer-facing staff know how to crack a smile.

Fascinating house with a history that is not just Lord Byron. Lots of art work and interesting objects. Great volunteers who will explain everything and enter into interesting discussions. Follow the brown signs to get there as there is only one way in. You pay for parking for the car and then there is an extra charge for the house if you want to go round. Lovely formal gardens and parkland. Dogs welcome everywhere apart from the house. Nice little cafe. Paths in the garden are well made so not muddy

We arrived just after 2pm, we didn't realise it closed at 4pm at this time of year. We still enjoyed a walk around. The waterways through the Japanese garden were overflowing a bit so you need sturdy shoes. We visited most parts of the gardens - some parts you could see were being tended but a lot of it could do with some TLC. It's a shame to see it deteriorate. The bamboo clumps (were they part of the original garden?) were getting out of control in several areas of the Japanese garden. Still, it's a good place to get out for a walk. As we'd not a lot of time we didn't visit the cafe.

Visited over the weekend and was incredibly surprised. Who ever runs their website, is really underselling it because this place is HUGE. Each room was beautifully presented and very well maintained by staff, who seem to really love where they are and are very happy to give clear and wonderful info. It was a joy to see how excited they were to share stories and information about which ever room you were in. Guides are understaffed though and therefore unable to show all their rooms but what there was, and there was a lot, was fabulous. Items for Byron were displayed, along with rooms you could walk into and admire. Fun little rooms at the end with interactive aspects like dressing up and thoughtful presentation on the black experience. The first poem by the entrance stairwell hit me hard, as did the one referencing the man in the fireplace panel. Gardens were beautiful and well maintained, you can see the love the FoH/volunteer people have for their work space. The cafe was lovely, clean and had many seats. Bathrooms were very clean. The food was very good, best omelette I have had in ages. Two coeliacs in our group, and though they had run out of GF bread, were happy to offer the vegan chilli (Which our non vegan teen said was very tasty) and the omelette instead, both well presented and in good portions for hungry people. I knew nothing about Byron when I went in, and now feel well educated and very happy we visited. Excellent prices, we are not well off and did not feel like we paid too much. Good value for money and affordable. Parking is separate, £6 at the time, and gives access to all the gardens which are also huge with accessible pathways which can be navigated by most disabilities. House has many stairs and levels, not wheel chair friendly but being historic building, to be expected. Nice large shop at end of tour (And start) which has a large variety of gifts and some duck food which is recommended for the swans who hold you hostage. Grounds open at 10, house at 11 with last access at 3. We spent almost the whole time there and could of happily spent much more. All in all, brilliant place, lovely staff, beautifully maintained with caring love. Nottingham council have a gem here and really need to update their website on this, it deserves more visitors.

We have been here a few times previously as we used to live local. Gorgeous garden and a lovely look at the old abbey. I liked to see the small water fall and my children like to play in the play areas

We went to the Abbey on the Sunday of the first bank holiday in May. There was a collection of old fashioned fair ground rides in the courtyard and everything got busier as the day went on. The car park is about a mile from the main road (after the pay booth). The abbey is then about five or ten minutes walk from the car park. We enjoyed the large and varied gardens where there were plenty of benches if you needed them. We paid to go inside the abbey which was more like a hall with lots of decorated rooms to explore. The staff really made the whole visit great because they were all friendly and keen to help and share their knowledge. In particular David, who I learnt a lot from about Byron and the history of the Abbey. Thank you.