It may have been a dull and damp Sunday, but as we were moored just by the back entrance to Shugborough Hall, our friends Mon & Phil drove down from Bramhall in Cheshire for the day, to join us and have a wander round. We had been round the hall about ten years or more years ago, but somehow they never had. And we’d had a lovely time with them last year doing the stereotypical National Trust bit…

Even allowing for the weather it was something of a Curate’s Egg. It seems that the Trust had acquired the estate a long time ago, mainly because it was a rare example of a complete estate, with all the trimmings. They were less interested in the Hall, and for many years the building had been run/maintained/whatever by Staffordshire Council. But very recently the NT had taken it back, and were clearly only just getting their act together. Their new interpretive stuff clearly hadn’t all been completed.

Patrick Lichfield’s apartment (no photos allowed) were much as we remembered, and in honour of the accidental theme of last year’s cruise, here are some splendid ceilings from the hall.

We went for a wander outside, but it was pretty cold and miserable.

Some of the  borders were admittedly splendid though.

After heading back to the boat for tea and biccies, we ended up nattering for so long it was too late to move Song & Dance on a bit as per original plan, and the only sensible thing to do was to decamp to the Clifford Arms for dinner again, this time with Mon & Phil. We think they felt marginally obligated… they’d left their car in the pub’s car park all day. Another excellent day.