Sevenoaks is a town which, while sitting firmly in London’s vast commuter belt, still conserves many charms. The greatest of these is Knole House and Deer Park filled with literally millions of trees. The mansion, which dates back to the 14^th century, is a whole town in itself.

It was Queen Elizabeth I who gave Knole to the Sackville family whose descendants still live there, although the property and park are now owned by the National Trust. Knole house is famous for having 365 rooms, 52 staircases, 12 entrances and 7 courtyards. My parents informed me of this fact as a small child and so I learnt my calendar from this magnificent building.

A lovely family and friends’ day spent at Knole House and Park in the 1950’s) 

I wonder if you can make out a calendar from your house. (I think I managed 7 rooms!).

What’s also fascinating about Knole is that the great novelist, Virginia Woolf, wrote her enchanting ‘Orlando’ while staying there with her lover, Vita Sackville-West, also a novelist and someone who wrote commandingly about gardening. More recently Knole house was the setting for the Beatles’ videos accompanying Penny Lane and Strawberry fields forever. That was just fifty years ago (!).

(Dear or dear! What uninvited guests do we have coming to our picnic in Knole Park in 2006.)

If you ever find yourself in London you must make a day of visiting Knole. In so many respect it is probably the finest country house in England. It is certainly my favourite.

At this stage you’ll be wondering why I am writing about the beauties of Sevenoaks when I’m in the Lucchesia, Italy . That’s because this 6^th of July at 9.30 pm in Bagni di Lucca’s Teatro Accademico there will be a choral concert given by pupils of Sevenoaks School under the directorship of Christopher Dyer. The school has a great musical tradition daring back to its founding in 1483. It’s even mentioned in one of Shakespeare’s plays (Henry VI Pt 2).

In Bagni di Lucca’s Proloco site the concert is titled “The Sennocke consort” – musica corale dal ‘500 al ‘900. Ore 21.30 c/o presso il Teatro Accademico a Bagni di Lucca”.   That’s not a printing error. It’s because former pupils are called “Old Sennockians”.

A great evening is in store for you if you are around Bagni di Lucca on the 6^th of July. Do be there!