Shugborough

For decades I have passed the brown sign on the M6 motorway pointing to the exit to Shugborough. Today to break up my journey, I followed it.

It deserves a day trip, not the fleeting visit I made. There is a lot to see, and having taken on the management from Staffordshire Council the National Trust has an ambitious investment plan. The walled garden, which was apparently one of the best in the country in its day, looks a real challenge.

The last owner before the National Trust was well known society photographer Patrick Lichfield, also known as Patrick Anson, Earl of Lichfield. I hadn’t time to visit the house, but there is apparently a recreation of his studio in the apartment he occupied.