Chiswick House and Gardens gets festive with markets and a grotto

West London has few finer places for a winter stroll than Chiswick House and Gardens. The charity describes the estate as a "350-year-old haven" that is "completely free to roam", and this season it is filling the gardens with festive cheer.

The villa at the heart of the estate was designed by Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, and completed in 1729. William Kent created much of the garden, which is one of the earliest English landscape gardens.

The house has had a remarkable life. It later passed to the Dukes of Devonshire, and Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, made it a social base. The statesmen Charles James Fox and George Canning both died at the house, in 1806 and 1827. Later still it served as a mental hospital, the Chiswick Asylum, from 1892 to 1928, before Middlesex County Council bought it in 1929. In 1813 Samuel Ware built a conservatory to house exotic fruits and camellias. The house was saved from destruction after lobbying by the Georgian Group in 1948, and the Chiswick House and Gardens Trust, formed in 2005, took over its administration in 2010 after restoration work.

The gardens are open every day from 7am until dusk, and they are free to visit.

This winter's programme has something for everyone. Christmas at Chiswick House and a Duck Pond Festive Market run from 1 November to 24 December, and Father Christmas's Magical Grotto opens from 28 November to 24 December. On 28 and 29 November, the Urban Food Fest Christmas Market comes to the gardens, and from 16 November visitors can pre order a Chiswick House Christmas wreath.

Art lovers can also catch the outdoor exhibition Sculpture inspired by life, which runs until 9 December.

Whether you come for the markets, the grotto or simply a walk through William Kent's historic landscape, it makes an easy and rewarding winter outing, just a short walk from Chiswick station.

Chiswick House and Gardens is on Burlington Lane, Chiswick, W4 2RP. For festive events and opening times, visit chiswickhouseandgardens.org.uk.