O to Be in England

Now that Autumn's here! The soup's on, the aroma of roasted vegetables and fresh hot bread maketh glad. In what must be Britain's ultimate progressive dinner, Sarah Edington guides us through the culinary offerings of twenty-one of the National Trust's Historic Houses. Sample menu: a country vegetable soup from Kedleston Hall served with Cliveden lentil and wine pate; Berrington homity pies with ossum salad from Buckland Abbey on the side. Finish up by tucking into an apple and stilton strudel while enjoying the view of the Claremont Landscape Garden. Robert Browning never had it so good. Please sir, I want some more.

The National Trust Vegetarian Recipes; revised from the earlier National Trust Book of Healthy Eating. More at nationaltrust.org.uk/bookshop