Beningbrough

After our shopping we head out to Beningbrough Hall to celebrate my new membership of the National Trust, and to walk.

As we drive in, I can see all the cars. ‘Look, we’re going to have to park miles away!’ ‘Val, we’ve come to walk!’ We change into ‘walking’ shoes. Cat has the proper shoes, I have my non-trainers, which are at least flat, and which I used to use for exercise class.

Avoiding the small children hunting for Easter eggs, we strike unerringly across a field heading for the river, somehow finding the one muddy patch as we cross it. I whimper a little, as I get a streak of mud on my nice white shoes. But we make it to the river bank, the path is dry, and it’s very pretty and peaceful.

As we head towards the village, we cross the bottom of lots of gardens, some with their own landing stages, 'how fab is that?' and then head back up into the village past the pub. It’s closed down since we were last there, so I find myself scrambling over a rusty old gate. We walk back up the village, and past an old vicarage that could be straight out of Pride and Prejudice. It’s idyllic, and makes a country cottage look quite appealing, as long as you could have a place in town as well.

As we head back into the park we realise we have to climb over an electric fence, so I kindly allow Cat to test it first, to see if it’s on. It isn’t. A change of shoes later, and we’re heading for the tea shop, and the house.

Inside, there are lots of portraits of Restoration and Georgian figures, from the National Portrait Gallery, and some huge, and rather oppressive four poster beds. They’ve worked hard to make it interactive, but I’m disappointed to find that what I thought was a dressing up room, turns out to be half a dress so that you can emulate a portrait. I mean, what use is that?!

Finally, we hit the gift shop. There’s a second hand book shop upstairs, and there are quite lot of plays. Of course, I bought some of them. But I didn't bother with the Pinter.