Post-Christmas walks at Shugborough Estate

Majestic Shugborough Estate, in Staffordshire, is not only ready to welcome visitors to some very festive events during the build-up to Christmas, but also once again at the start of the New Year - when everyone is ready to walk-off the excesses of the season!

Shugborough, which is managed by Staffordshire County Council, has organised eight themed walks aimed at getting 2014 off to a healthy start. The walks will take place between Sunday, January 12th and Sunday March 16th.

Led by an experienced and informed guide, and offering everyone the chance to lose a few pounds by donning their walking boots and rucksack, each walk will last around an hour-and-a-half and provide some great photographic opportunities.

Taking full advantage of a sprawling parklands which feature one of the UK's most remarkable collections of monuments and follies, some of the walks will even touch-on why the Estate hit the world's headlines just a few years ago - as the final resting place of The Holy Grail!

Add to these highlights one of the largest Yew trees in Europe, historic links to mid-19th century landscape designer William Nessfield and a formal garden with terraced lawns edged with lavender and rose borders, and it's easy to see why the Winter Walks programme at Shugborough could prove to be extremely popular this year.

The programme itself gets under way on Sunday, January 12th with a walk entitled "Myths and Mysteries", which will be on offer again on Saturday, February 22nd. Other walks include "History of the Gardens" (Saturday, January 25th; and Sunday, March 16th; "Fabulous Follies" (Saturday, February 1st; and Saturday, March 1st); and "Hermits and Hidden Gems" (Sunday February 16th; and Sunday, March 9th). The price for joining each walk is £12.95 per adult, and £8.95 per child.

There are eight monuments of national historic importance on this famous Staffordshire Estate - from the enormous neo-classical Triumphal Arch crowning the hilly Shugborough skyline, to the curious Tower of the Winds adjacent to the Victorian farm.

Among the eight is the notorious and enigmatic Shepherd's Monument, rumoured to have links to the Holy Grail. "As seen on television", and featured by the media around the world, its mysterious code is said - by some - to hold the secret to the location of the Holy Grail. Others regard it simply as a love poem.

The estate as a whole is set in 900 acres of breathtaking English countryside, and everyone taking part in the walks will be positively encouraged to enjoy the Ladywalk Tearooms for a well earned rest after the walk, some home-made soup with a crusty roll, and a delicious piece of home-made cake!

Booking is essential (Tel: 01889-881388, and select Option 3). For further information, visit www.shugborough.org.uk.