Survivors from another age

Two National Trust properties bask in a glorious Indian summer’s day

- Fiona Reynolds

ON a divine September day, I’m heading for south Warwickshire. This little corner of England, deep in the ancient Forest of Arden, has a surprisingly low profile. The setting for Shakespeare’s As You Like It and still scattered with remnants of ancient woodland, it’s protected by Birmingham’s green belt and is a quiet place full of secrets and surprises.

Two of those surprises are glorious National Trust manor houses, survivors from another age, and we’re going to walk between them. They still sit in their historic landscapes, but now nestle among their modern equivalents, for this is a place where today’s prosperous Midlanders also like to live.