I spent the perfect rainy afternoon at one of the West Midlands' most impressive country mansions - for free
As part of this year’s Heritage Open Days festival I visited Dudmaston Hall near Bridgnorth - a 17th-century country estate where old meets new, and Shropshire’s rolling hills frame gardens scattered with sculptures.
Between September 12 and September 21, hundreds of historic venues around the country are throwing open their doors in a celebration of England's history and culture with Heritage Open Days.
While various venues are offering special tours or exhibitions for the event, for many the festival means free entry to dozens of castles, manors and country houses usually locked behind a real-life paywall.
I never pass on a bargain, so to take advantage of the offering, on Sunday I opted to spend a drizzly couple of hours at Dudmaston Hall.
The grand 17th-century country house is located a few miles south of Bridgnorth near the village of Quatt, just off the A442 on the way to Kidderminster.
I expected to join hundreds of others scrambling to get in to Dudmaston for free (usually £16.50 for adults without a National Trust membership), but the looming grey clouds and incoming yellow weather warning kept most of the crowds at bay.
Dudmaston is a working estate, still occupied by the same family (in a vague sort of way) that moved in more than 800 years ago.
