Hobnob with the upper class for grand a day

Now the proles can take 'little holidays' with the toffs, learning which knife to use first and how to discipline the help without fear of arrest. All for about £1,000 a day.

These are tough times for stately home owners, as Steve Boggan reminds us in The Times. According to the Historic Houses Association, which represents around 1,500 houses in private ownership, most country house owners now struggle to pay their bills.

Anyone who has stayed in one will know why. Country house living made sense in the 19th century, when there were plenty of servants and people came to stay for weeks at a time. Now, for most weeks, the bedrooms are as empty as the drafty halls. I admire the families who've managed to cling on and not sell up to a Russian oligarch.

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