On the evening of Wednesday 22 February, Carlyle’s House in central London hosted a recreation of one of historian and philosopher Thomas Carlyle and his wife Jane’s famous salons. It featured Simon Heffer, Ian Hislop and AN Wilson, and was introduced by Carlyle’s House volunteer Catherine Utley. The panel discussed Carlyle's influence on Victorian and contemporary society. It was a riveting and entertaining evening, and this 45-minute podcast invites you to listen in.

Bettany takes a tour of 2 Willow Road in Hampstead with National Trust volunteer John Escolme. The house was built by Hungarian architect Ernö Goldfinger both as family home and manifesto of his Modernist ideals. Goldfinger is famous for designing Trellick Tower in West London to solve the post-war housing crisis. Despite its nadir in the 1970s when Trellick became known as ‘the tower of terror’, it’s now something of a cultural icon, although Erno never lived to see its rehabilitation.

Bettany explores the way this remarkable tweed-wearing émigré brought the Bauhaus to Britain with Goldfinger’s biographer Nigel Warburton, and how at 2 Willow Rd, he paid homage to our Georgian architectural tradition in what is now considered to be a Modernist masterpiece.

For more information about 2 Willow Rd, including opening times and dates, go to: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/2-willow-road

Bettany explores Orford Ness, a ten-mile long shingle spit off the coast of Suffolk, with site manager Grant Lohoar and wildlife expert Stewart Warrington. Access to Orford Ness was denied to the public during much of the 20th century, due to the top-secret nature of the work being undertaken here for the military. When the National Trust opened the site to the public in 1995, the management concerns of this area changed considerably and it is now protected as a fragile natural environment and a site of historical interest.

Bettany examines the globally rare vegetated shingle spit, and visits the radar research station and the nuclear bomb testing labs, to observe how this mysterious wind-swept and remote island is slowly being reclaimed by nature.

For more information about Orford Ness, including opening times and dates, go to: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/orford-ness-national-nature-reserve

With tricky clay soil – our gardeners in the veg garden at Sissinghurst explain how no dig gardening has worked deliciously well to provide fresh vegetables to our restaurant… even when it’s snowing outside!

We'd love to know what you thought of this series to help us make more of them in the future. Please let us know in our survey:

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/gardens-survey

Upton House in Warwickshire was one of four houses owned by Walter Samuel, the 2nd Lord Bearsted, who was one of the richest men in Britain before the Second World War. When he bought this estate in 1927 it satisfied all those favourite pre-war pursuits for the well-heeled British, but there is more to this house, and its former owner, than meets the eye.

House manager Michelle Leake shows Bettany around Lord Bearsted’s notable art collection and uncovers more about the quiet philanthropist who lived by his own motto and put ‘deeds before words’. This is revealed in his incredible bid to rescue Jewish children from Nazi Germany, known today as the Kindertransport. Bettany has a moving meeting with Lynne Parsons, the daughter of one of the Kindertransport children whom Lord Bearsted helped to rescue.

For more information about Upton House, including opening times and dates, go to: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/upton-house-and-gardens

Upton House in Warwickshire was one of four houses owned by Walter Samuel, the 2nd Lord Bearsted, who was one of the richest men in Britain before the Second World War. When he bought this estate in 1927 it satisfied all those favourite pre-war pursuits for the well-heeled British, but there is more to this house, and its former owner, than meets the eye.

House manager Michelle Leake shows Bettany around Lord Bearsted’s notable art collection and uncovers more about the quiet philanthropist who lived by his own motto and put ‘deeds before words’. This is revealed in his incredible bid to rescue Jewish children from Nazi Germany, known today as the Kindertransport. Bettany has a moving meeting with Lynne Parsons, the daughter of one of the Kindertransport children whom Lord Bearsted helped to rescue.

For more information about Upton House, including opening times and dates, go to: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/upton-house-and-gardens

Alan meets Josh Sparkes – one of our gardeners at Sissinghurst and self-proclaimed meadow obsessive. He explains how a return to traditional practises has revitalised the wildlife at Sissinghurst. Scythe at the ready!

We'd love to know what you thought of this series to help us make more of them in the future. Please let us know in our survey:

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PLANTS AND TREES IN ORDER OF REFERENCE

Leucanthemum vulgare – Oxeye daisy

Lychnis flos-cuculi – Ragged robin

The Sandham Memorial Chapel in Hampshire is Stanley’s Spencer’s monument to the forgotten dead of the First World War. The murals draw on Spencer’s experiences serving first as a medical orderly in Britain and then on active service in the Balkans. Bettany meets Operations Manager Alison Paton to take a closer look at the paintings and she lends Bettany a ladder to investigate the stories on the highest parts of the walls.

Spencer expert Amanda Bradley discusses his inspiration from Giotto’s Arena Chapel in Padua. Finally Bettany has a cup of tea with Robert Eggar, a retired solider who volunteers at the chapel and who believes that Spencer has discovered the only thing that is beautiful about the battlefields - the comradeship of men - which is why so many of our war heroes visit the chapel today.

For more information about Sandham Memorial Chapel, including opening times and dates, go to: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/sandham-memorial-chapel

The Sandham Memorial Chapel in Hampshire is Stanley’s Spencer’s monument to the forgotten dead of the First World War. The murals draw on Spencer’s experiences serving first as a medical orderly in Britain and then on active service in the Balkans. Bettany meets Operations Manager Alison Paton to take a closer look at the paintings and she lends Bettany a ladder to investigate the stories on the highest parts of the walls.

Spencer expert Amanda Bradley discusses his inspiration from Giotto’s Arena Chapel in Padua. Finally Bettany has a cup of tea with Robert Eggar, a retired solider who volunteers at the chapel and who believes that Spencer has discovered the only thing that is beautiful about the battlefields - the comradeship of men - which is why so many of our war heroes visit the chapel today.

For more information about Sandham Memorial Chapel, including opening times and dates, go to: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/sandham-memorial-chapel

Alan visits Sissinghurst in Kent, previously home to poet and novelist Vita Sackville-West and her husband, diplomat Harold Nicolson. Working from ruins, the couple’s personalities collided and combined to create this dramatic, world-renowned garden. It comes complete with 300 varieties of rose, an area that’s planted to sparkle at twilight, and a castle tower with views to take your breath away.

We'd love to know what you thought of this series to help us make more of them in the future. Please let us know in our survey:

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/gardens-survey

PLANT LIST

Sweet chestnut coppice woodland – Castanea sativa

Azalea mollis

The Himalayan blue poppy – Meconopsis betonicifolia

Polyanthus – various

Pleached lime trees - Tilia platyphyllos ‘Rubra’

Fritillaria imperialis

Tulips – various

Narcissus – various

Alba rose – various

Bourbon rose – Mme. Lauriol de Barny, Souvenir de la Malmaison

Centifolia rose – various

Damask rose – various

Gallica rose – Tuscany Superb, Cardinal de Richelieu, Belle de Crécy

Moss rose – Général Kléber

Peony

Iris

Eremurus – various

Phlox paniculata 'David'