With one week left with the car we took the chance to visit some National Trust properties as we headed back to London.

Spurred on by the wonderful gift of 3 free entries given to us by Chris in Buckfastleigh. During August free entry coupons were available in the newspaper. Chris generously gave us 3 of hers.

We’re ready to explore!

The pictures will do more of the talking…

1. Berrington Hall in Leominster, Herefordshire

This Grade I listed property was built in the late 1770s for the London’s Lord Mayor Thomas Harley and remained with his descendants for over 200 years until it was sold to the Cawley family, a wealthy cotton merchant and politician.

The grounds were to be the last work of Lancelot “Capability” Brown, who provided a full turn key service in designing and landscaping parks of English country homes. He was renowned for telling his clients that their property had ”capability” for improvement.

The grounds included a charming walled garden filled with apple trees galore.

2. Croome near Upton-upon-Severn in south Worcestershire

An 18th century mansion where both the mansion and park were designed by Capability Brown, his first commission.

Croome was visited by George III and Queen Victoria during summers as a child.

3. Upton House near Banbury, Oxfordshire

This Grade II listed property was built in the late 17th century. The owners in the latter years were the Viscount Bearsted’s family whose father was the founder of the Shell Oil Company.

Upton House is renowned for astonishing art and fine Chelsea porcelain collections.

The viscount’s wife worked with Welsh born “Kitty” Lloyd Jones to transform the gardens in the 1930s. She is particularly credited with converting a marshland into a bog garden based around a natural spring.

4. Blenheim Palace in Woodstock, Oxfordshire

Not actually a National Trust property but this grand UNESCO World Heritage site is notably part English history as being the birth place of Winston Churchill.

His parents were attending a function at the palace when his mother went into “early” labour.

Churchill had a life long connection with the palace as his grandparents were its owners at the time even proposing to his wife, Clementine Hozier, in its grounds.

With the palace roof being renovated, a special viewing platform had been erected to enable a uniquely closer view of the palace’s facade and the expansive views from the top.

The vast grounds were also affected by Capability Brown’s design providing endless walks through wooded areas, alongside the hand dug lakes and ponds.

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Our visits to these lovely properties were complemented by some delightful English villages along the way.

And then it’s London time.