What can you do on a sunny Sunday afternoon? There are, of course, a whole host of answers to that question, but although it might make me sound twice my age, one of my favourite things to do is to wander off to a castle or historic house and have a nose round. I've always enjoyed visiting castles, ruined or otherwise and in the summer you can find some absolutely gorgeous places to spend a few hours and really escape from the bustle of "normal life".

The gates open promptly at midday, and you'll soon be trundling into the car park. The parking area is not terribly big - on a busy day, I should imagine that the place can become quite congested. Immediately around the car park are a few lonely picnic tables, but if you want somewhere to sit and eat your sandwiches, there are far more picturesque spots to choose. You pay your entrance fee at a small hut that sits in front of the car park entrance. Make sure you have cash, as credit cards and cheques are not accepted. With your entrance tickets, you are given a small map of the site and then you are free to go off and explore.

The lake is absolutely teeming with huge, tame fish that come up to the surface of the water and wait for you to drops bits of food in for them. The fish are a great attraction for both adults and children alike, although I am sure that they follow me around the edge of the lake, waiting for me to fall in. At one end of the lake, the water is covered in huge lily pads, and immediately above them is a stone walled balcony that enables you to stand and look out over the lake. The whole scene is incredibly calm and tranquil, and as you sit there looking around there really is no need for banter or chit chat. Around the outskirts of the gardens, the estate contains ancient woodlands and pasture, and on certain dates, you can join guided walks to spot the many rare species of butterfly that live there. For the keen gardeners, all the plants are labelled and I noticed a lot of interest in one or two of the plants from many of the visitors.

When I first came to Sizergh, the first thing that struck me about the interior was how small most of the rooms were. Although visitors are not able to inspect every part of the interior, of all the visible rooms, I can't recall one that is particularly impressive in size or scale and in many cases they were surprisingly small. Most of the walls were oak-panelled and the timber floorboards are beautifully rustic and natural - huge in size, but more solid and substantial than any modern material could ever hope to be. Much of the furniture is made from oak and the interior felt reasonably natural, given the fact that it was actually arranged as an exhibition. In each of the rooms there are laminated A4 fact sheets that detail the particulars of all the paintings and items in the room. I must admit, I tend not to read the detail of everything in the house as I find it rather exhaustive and sometimes, I like to wander round imagining where something came from, or who owned it originally. We'll normally stroll around the interior for an hour or so - if you want to linger on every detail, it will probably take you nearer two.