VIII Homes & Gardens

When people come to Britain they usually want to visit the great houses, the so-called Stately Homes , many of which are open to the public.

Ethelhampton House is a classic English country mansion .

Not only does it have a secret passage, it is also reputed to have at least 3 ghosts.

There's the ghost of an 18th century swordsman , killed while duelling in the Great Hall.

He can be seen, they say, sword in hand in the dark passageways of the house.

There's also the ghost of the mysterious grey lady who, it is said , threw herself from an upper window and still haunts the bedrooms.

The third ghost is that of her pet monkey who met his end as a result of being accidentally locked in the secret passage.

Back in Kent is Chartwell, the home of Sir Winston Churchill.

It was here when he could get away from affairs of state that he would like to paint in his studio in the grounds of his house.

In Laungharne in South Wales is a boatman's cottage overlooking the estuary of the River Tywi.

This was the home of the poet Dylan Thomas.

A short way from the house is a little shed .

It was here surrounded by pictures of his favourite writers that he wrote his best-known work, a play 'Under milk wood'.

Another writer lived at this house in the London suburb of Norwood: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes.

If you go in search of the famous 221 B Baker Street you'll be admitted to Holmes's rooms, exactly as described in the stories.

His chemistry apparatus , his violin, his pipe and his permanently cluttered desk.