It’s hard to believe that a quarter of the year has passed already, and yet as it’s the Easter weekend, I seem to have the same issue I had when I started this blog in December – both Lizzy and Labrador need a walk to balance out the calories consumed and the calories burned. So … More Hardy Monument – Dorset

I’m starting to find that visiting National Trust properties is a bit like house porn. In the same way that I sometimes find myself on Rightmove, having accidentally-on-purpose searched by value – high to low – and I sit there drooling over stunning houses that I will never even drive past, let alone own, National … More Stoneywell – Leicestershire

The visit to Belton House did not go as planned. Although I hasten to add, through no fault of the National Trust. It was just one of those days where the universe reminds you how little control you actually have on your day to day life, and while this can be exciting, it can somewhat … More Belton House – Lincolnshire

Deep in the Suffolk countryside, walking along a path flanked with daffodils, the last thing I expected to see peaking from behind the trees was an Italian palace. Complete with four ostentatious Roman pillars, the intimidating rotunda sits at the centre of the estate, its grandeur is emphasised by the two single story wings branching … More Ickworth – Suffolk

Once the immortal words ‘it was filmed as part of Harry Potter’ had been spoken, it was inevitable that I would visit Lavenham. Back in 2010, this quaint little village in the Suffolk countryside, regularly used as a film location, was transformed into Godric’s Hollow for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. Yet, … More Lavenham Guildhall – Suffolk

The strangest named National Trust property visited so far (it’s not a great contest having only been to four places), Ham House and Garden in Richmond, Surrey, was this year’s birthday treat. Prospective visitors hoping for copious amounts of the pork variety will, rather unsurprisingly, be disappointed by Ham House. It is so named for … More Ham House and Garden – Surrey

So the first weekend of the year brings with it my first official National Trust property – Sudbury Hall and the Museum of Childhood. Choosing which of the almost 600 places I would first visit was relatively easy as many of the properties close for the winter and do not reopen until March. Sudbury Hall … More Sudbury Hall and Museum of Childhood – Derbyshire

There is something incredibly healing about watching and listening to waves breaking on a pebble beach. It’s good for the soul. It is even better for the soul when you can sit on a bench and admire the view with a hot cup of tea from The Hive cafe at Burton Bradstock beach. But what … More Burton Bradstock – Dorset

Feeling fatter than a Labrador that has secretly found its way into the kibble cupboard and with cabin fever akin to that of a Z-list celebrity exiting the Big Brother house at the end of the series, I needed a walk today. And so did my parents’ actual Labrador. And what better way to kick … More Golden Cap – Dorset