of the best scones in history. And 50 of the best places to read about. You’ll never need to leave the kitchen again. Whip up a Triple Chocolate scone while you read about the mechanical elephants at Waddesdon Manor. Or savour an Apple & Cinnamon scone while you absorb the dramatic love life of Henry Cecil of Hanbury Hall. Marvel at Ightham Mote's Grade 1 listed dog kennel while you savour a Cheese, Spring Onion and Bacon scone. A Christmas pudding scone with brandy butter at Treasurer’s House in Yorkshire was one of Merker’s favourite scones, which she said was “off the scale delicious” in her blog entry. “That first bite of [the] Christmas pudding scone with brandy butter will remain with me for a very long time.” She scored it 5+ out of 5.

Merker rated a scone from her visit to the Prior Park Landscape Garden in January 2023 as five out of five and described it as a triumph on her blog. Merker, a marketing director, started the National Trust scone project in August 2013 with the ambition of “visiting every National Trust property and having a scone at it” where possible, she said in her blog. WINNER* in the category 'Best General Publication' at the 2018 Association for Cultural Enterprises (ACE) Awards So, for me, it was really important to finish it for him as well – I wanted to make sure I got to the end.”I have yet to try a National Trust cookbook that I didn't fall in love with, and this one is no different. It is utterly delightful and so much fun to cook from. I highly recommend it. Whip up a Triple Chocolate scone while you read about the mechanical elephants at Waddesdon Manor. Or savour an Apple & Cinnamon scone while you absorb the dramatic love life of Henry Cecil of Hanbury Hall. Marvel at a Ightham Mote's Grade 1 listed dog kennel while you savour a Cheese, Spring Onion and Bacon scone. I don’t know what I’d call it – it’s more than a hobby … It’s taken up a lot of my time and effort over the past 10 years and I’ll really miss it.” If sweet scones are your favorite, there's everything from chocolate varieties to fruits, honey and more. So I combined the two things: being a bit housebound gave me the chance to create a mini mission and bake all 50 scones from the book. You'll have to excuse the photography, as it's not my strong point, but here are 49 of the 50 scones (the beetroot one eluded me):

I enjoy the savoury scones probably better than the sweet, though some of my kids definitely prefer sweet. That's the great thing about this book--it has a great variety of both. For the savoury lovers, try the Ploughman's Scones or Welsh Cheese and Herb Scones. Cheese, Spring Onion and Bacon Breakfast Scones are a great alternative to your "normal" breakfast. In doing so, Merker said she had found the key to a good scone. “There is a secret to scones and it’s the easiest secret ever,” she said. “The secret to a scone is that it has to be fresh.” The second thing that happened was the publication ofthe National Trust Book of Scones, featuring recipes from NT properties across the land. It still amazes me to this day, as has all the support from the Sconepals that have joined this mission either by reading the blog or buying the book or sending in pictures of scones they have spotted on their travels. You're all marvellous people. I love reading about chefs, home cooks, restaurants, etc. - but I seldom do a thorough read, as in reading the text plus at least going through a complete scan of ingredients. The NATIONAL TRUST BOOK OF SCONES was one of those times that I had to go that whole route-- because I do love scones, and the "quirky history" of each scone recipe (all from National Trust properties throughout England) was so much fun to read! Some were even laugh-out-loud scandalous! And all were interesting looks into the history of Great Britain.

Book of Scones