Last week, M's dad took the two of us to Kingston Lacey, one of the many National Trust properties in Dorset. It was given to the Bankes family after the wife of Sir Ralph Banks successfully defended Corfe Castle against the Parlimentarians during the English Civil War. The castle was eventually taken by treachery and destroyed, although the ruins are still very impressive. Kingston Lacey house is absolutely beautiful, and walking around the grounds was lovely too.


The National Trust (http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk) does a fantastic job of maintaining loads of properties, gardens and landscapes. I sometimes feel, however, that with so much history in Britain unless they really start making places like Kingston Lacey attractive and very accessible to everyone, they're going to start having a hard time of it. While we were there, there were lots of people walking around...but the majority of them were either elderly Brits or tourists speaking a different language. The cost of getting into the grounds of the house is fairly expensive (£4 per adult), and seeing the house even more so. It just seems like they're wasting an opportunity to do so much with some of these places. It makes me wonder what will happen 50 years down the road.