Tailored Private Tours: Hever Castle, Chartwell & Penshurst Place
The one day here that does not start in London. You are met at East Croydon, Hever or Oxted station and driven wherever you have decided to go: Hever Castle, and then Chartwell, Penshurst Place or Down House if you want them. Seven hours, and the running order is yours.
A day in Kent you put together yourself
Met at a station, not a hotel
East Croydon, Hever or Oxted — fifteen minutes out of London by train, and the driving starts where the sightseeing does.
Four houses to choose from
Hever Castle, Chartwell, Penshurst Place and Down House. You pick; the listing does not fix a sequence.
The lowest fare of the three
Priced for a car of four rather than per traveller, and less than half the next cheapest way out here.
Seven hours, shaped by you
The clock starts at pickup and stops at drop-off. Any hour beyond the seventh is charged at twenty-five pounds.
A local driver
The operator works out of Hever itself rather than out of a London depot.
Why a Kent station beats a London hotel
Hever is thirty miles from central London and the road is the slow part. A train from Victoria or London Bridge covers most of that distance in the time a car takes to clear the South Circular. This operator meets you at the far end of it.
One traveller puts the journey at fifteen minutes from where they were staying. It will be longer from a central hotel, but the principle holds. You pay for a car where a car is useful and for a train where a train is faster. Getting there has the timings for both.
Four houses, and what actually fits in seven hours
Four stops are named, and their published durations add up to seven hours with no travelling at all. That tells you they are a menu rather than an itinerary. Two houses is a comfortable day: two hours at Hever, two at Chartwell or Penshurst, and the driving between.
Chartwell is Winston Churchill’s family home, eight miles north. Penshurst Place is a medieval manor still lived in by the Sidney family. Down House is where Charles Darwin wrote On the Origin of Species. Each charges its own admission, and none of it is in this fare.
The stops on the menu, and how long each takes
- Met at East Croydon, Hever or Oxted station
- Drive to Hever Castle and Gardens
- About two hours at the castle and gardens
- Add Chartwell, Penshurst Place or Down House
- Returned to the station you started from
Who this suits, and who should book something else
This one is for you if: Anyone staying south of London, or willing to take a short train out to meet the car. Repeat visitors to England who have done the London list and want a Kent day instead. Parties of three or four, because the fare buys the vehicle, and this is the cheapest vehicle here.
Book something else if: Anyone who wants collecting from their own hotel door, because this one starts at a station. The chauffeured day from London does door to door and gives five hours at the castle. Anyone who wants Hever and nothing else: two hours here is the castle and the formal gardens, and the far side of the estate needs longer.
What twenty-five pounds an hour does and does not buy
In the fare
- Private air-conditioned car and driver for the day
- Collection from East Croydon, Hever or Oxted station
Not in the fare
- Entry to Hever Castle and Gardens
- Entry to Chartwell house, garden and studio, if you choose it
- Entry to Penshurst Place house and gardens, if you choose it
- Entry to Down House, if you choose it
- Each hour beyond the seventh, charged at GBP 25
Meeting at East Croydon, Hever or Oxted
East Croydon, Hever or Oxted station, by arrangement. The seven days listed under Hever Castle tour from London each name their own starting point — most collect from a London address, one meets you at a Kent station — and the getting-there page sets those against the train and the road with times for each.
Know before you go
- Three stations to choose from. East Croydon, Hever or Oxted — agree which one, and the time, in writing before the day.
- Entry is excluded at every house. Hever, Chartwell, Penshurst Place and Down House all charge separately. Book online in advance where you can.
- The seventh hour is the limit. Anything past it is charged at twenty-five pounds an hour, so decide the running order before you set off.
- Confirmation can take 48 hours. You book on request rather than instantly, so leave yourself a day or two.
- Not wheelchair accessible. This car is not. The grounds at Hever are another matter and take a wheelchair on the hard paths.
- Two houses is the realistic day. Four stops is a menu, not a plan. Pick two and you will enjoy both.
Hever, Chartwell and the Kent in between
What travellers said about this driver
An excellent day. Paul is knowledgeable, kind and thoughtful, and the meeting instructions were easy. We customised it around Hever Castle and Penshurst, with a pub lunch in between.
Carolyn W. · July 2026
Paul knew Hever Castle, Chartwell and the local area inside out. The train out from London to meet him took fifteen minutes. My partner is interested in everything Churchill and I love old manor houses, so it suited us both.
Cynthia M. · May 2026
Paul is a most excellent guide. He did a good deal of research on our day, lined the stops up and made it all work. We learned a great deal about Chartwell, Hever Castle and the Kent countryside.
Heather V. · May 2026
Paul met us at Hever station and took us straight to the castle. He knows the area very well and was good company. Afterwards he drove us to another small town and waited while we walked around it.
Allison L. · March 2026
Frequently asked questions
Where exactly does this start?
Do we have to visit all four houses?
Are the entrance fees included?
How many people does the fare cover?
What if we want to be collected in London instead?
Can we stay longer than seven hours?
The two London departures worth comparing
Hever Castle Tours has all of them in one grid, with prices, seats and refund windows.