Saving Country Houses with Penelope Keith

Hidden secrets are unearthed at Staffordshire's Whitmore Hall. Ashby Manor's historic connections to the architect Edwin Lutyens are revealed, in both the house and in its gardens. Plus, the Chavenage mobile sauna project is hotting up.

In Chillingham in Northumberland, Britain's most haunted castle reveals its secrets as four brave visitors go on a night-time ghost hunt. The owners of Iford Manor in Wiltshire buy a pub to sell their own-brand cider in, as they seek to diversify the business. At Whitmore Hall in Staffordshire, the portraits get some long-overdue attention and a clean.

In Northamptonshire, Nova Guest has decided to get to grips with Ashby Manor's expansive parkland, and restore the views to the original vision of architect Edwin Lutyens. At Mapperton House, valuable tapestries are brought out for conservation. The staff at Chillingham Castle, Northumberland, explain the challenges of working for lifelong collector Sir Humphry Wakefield, who keeps buying new items and antiques.

In Dorset, rain and storms threaten Mapperton House's annual plant fair. In Staffordshire, the Cavenagh-Mainwaring family are dealing with leaks of their own at Whitmore Hall. Nova Guest is thrilled to sign off her summer season by inviting the first visitors in to the newly-restored Gunpowder Plot room at Ashby Manor, and at Chavenage in the Cotswolds, James and Emma are finally ready to open up their vaunted sauna project to guests.