We packed up and left the Airbnb in York around 9.30am. It is a 3.5 hour drive back to Aylesbury.

We stopped approximately half way at Belton House near Granton in the Midlands – where Maggie Thatcher came from.

We first checked out the garden with the huge greenhouse. Pineapples were very fashionable in the 1800s so there were some pineapple sculptures around.

We then headed for the cafe to have lunch before Glenn and I had a quick run around the inside of the house. Helen had been in before.

There were many plush bedrooms – with the Windsor bedroom a notable one.

Edward VIII was a famous visitor – he was a good friend of the house owner Peregrine Cust. According to the guide Edward boasted that he slept in every bed here when there were large weekend parties. Peregrine tried to persuade Wallis Simpson to renounce her relationship with Edward before they married to protect Edward.

King Charles III also used to sleep here when he was commissioned at RAF Cranwell.

There were many decorative and valuable pieces.

The owners had spent a lot of money impressing others with their wealth and throwing parties. They ran out of money and gave the house to the National Trust in 1984 but had a big sale of the contents. The National Trust bought as much as they could batting off antique dealers from all over the world.

Sophie Cust – one of the family in the mid 1800s – was an artist. Her pictures help the National Trust recreate what the internals looked like.

After seeing the house we then continued on to Aylesbury.

Once unloaded and sorted out we had an easy and delicious dinner of Waitrose crispy coated lamb with roasted small potatoes and cauliflower – one to remember for future fast dinners in the UK.