Burghley House is amazing, and is one of the finest houses of its kind that I have seen. It is billed as England's greatest Elizabethan house, and that is no exaggeration. The highlights for me were the billiard room, with the portraits of the Little Bedlam Club, and the heaven room, and hell staircase. Go to Burghley, you'll love it. (The gardens are fabulous too).