Belton House is a place of happy memories for my family; from its opening day, when we trailed my 1 year old son round the house on his reins, to our visit this summer when the Antiques Roadshow was encamped on the cricket pitch. We have picnicked whilst watching the horse trials and dined in the restaurant confident that our guests will be well fed and watered. We have walked with the ghosts of servants in the cellars and stretched our legs over the estate alongside the Belton deer herd. I have donated to the Boat House fund and seen it renovated to its former glory and watched as the children's playground has been improved and updated, along with the new indoor play area with all important cafe for parents!
There really is something for everyone - as we set off to show our World War 1 treasures to the Antiques Roadshow, we were optimistic that, whatever the weather, we were in for an interesting day. Arriving at midday, the sun shone on the queue of hopefuls snaking around the cricket pitch, clutching huge pictures wrapped in bubble wrap, bulging bags of crockery or tiny parcels of jewellery...worth a fortune? My husband joined the queue whilst I bought our hot pork and apple rolls, only to find that nothing was moving nor had it for a long while and the numbers of happy chatting punters had grown - surely only the British would queue like this!!
We gave up and sat on the grass, munching our lunch and watching the experts dispensing their verdict, the cameras and booms closing in on the chosen antiques - medals and military mementoes - that were the focus of this programme. The stone hounds on the roof stood proud as they had for centuries as visitors wandered up the steps and into the shade of the house. The windows glinted intriguingly in the sun as we walked away from the crowds into the gardens. The scarlet Bishop of Llandaff dahlias waved in the breeze and the fountains glistened and splashed. The whiff of coffee from the cafe tempted us back and scones and cream completed our visit. We may not have valued our treasures but we certainly had value for money - as members of the National Trust, the visit was free!!
Sue x (guest blogger and my mum!)
To find out more about Belton House, click here.
