Welbeck Abbey tour

The Red Drawing Room in 1906.

I spent a fascinating couple of hours on Thursday afternoon on a guided tour of the state rooms at Welbeck Abbey. This summer is the first time the house has been open to the public for many years and places on the tours sold out within a day or so.
The state rooms (including the Swan and Red drawing rooms, the dining room, the library, the print gallery and Gothic Hall) are very impressive and portraits of Holles, Harley, Bentinck, Ogle and Cavendish family members cover many of the walls. Our guide, Cheryl, was excellent and I was amused to see that someone in the family enjoys Jamaican Ska - I spotted the CD cover in the Gothic Hall!
Sadly, we didn't get to see the underground ballroom (which needs major restoration work) or any of the 5th Duke's tunnels but what we did see was well worth the £10 ticket.