Our last day!

We didn't want to waste our last day just driving from York to Manchester and preparing to fly home, so we planned to visit a couple of National Trust properties along the way.

The first was Nostell, a grand Palladian house in West Yorkshire. It comprises 300 acres of parkland and gardens, a stable courtyard and features a collection of authentic Chippendale furniture. 

The gardens were stunning, with a fabulous display of spring bulbs on show. Spring has definitely arrived in this part of England and the trees and hedgerows are finally showing tinges of green as the leaves emerge.

Closer to Manchester in the afternoon, we visited Quarry Bank Mill in Cheshire. It's one of the best preserved textile mills from the Industrial Revolution. It was built in 1784 and eventually became a complete industrial community, with housing for workers, a school for children and of course the mill, which was powered by a huge waterwheel and eventually by steam engines.

The family home and gardens, and a workers cottage are open to visitors, and the mill also has working Victorian era spinning and weaving equipment which you can see in action.