The orangery at Weston Park

No matter, since the minute you are over the threshold of Weston Park, you are transported to a different world where satnavs and broken down cars are of very little consequence. This beautiful home was gifted to the nation in 1986 by its last owner, Richard Bridgeman, the 7th Earl of Bradford and the place holds a distinct, Jeeves-like air of a plush but much-loved country pad. Perhaps no surprise since Jeeves creator PG Wodehouse used his childhood memories of Weston, which he renamed Blandings Castle, to inspire several of his books.

As well as having literary connotations, the house is filled to the brim with distinguished works of art and family heirlooms. Wander the corridors and you may chance across a Gainsborough portrait, a Gobelin tapestry, a painting by equestrian artist George Stubbs or the work of cabinet maker Thomas Chippendale – to name but a few.

Review: Weston Park, Shropshire