Mike Laycock viewed some national treasures at a stately home near York - while his kids played in an adventure playground outside

You might think you would face a 400-mile round journey to London to see paintings from the National Portrait Gallery.

Well, you would be wrong. Just a short drive or cycle out of York is Beningbrough Hall, and here, hanging on the walls of this remarkable Baroque property, there are portraits - by top-ranking artists from Joshua Reynolds to Gainsborough - of kings, queens and assorted aristocrats, all on loan from the National Gallery.

And the paintings are not the only reason to head for Beningbrough, a National Trust property standing in attractive grounds close to the banks of the River Ouse.

In fact, when I visited recently with my family, I spotted some visitors opting to pay a lower admission rate just to spend time in the delightful gardens and woodlands, without even planning to set foot inside the property.

My children were none too keen on touring the house and so a friend, who was accompanying us with her son, kindly offered to take the kids through the gardens to a good adventure playground in the woods to let off steam, while we got a chance to study the paintings in peace. Beningbrough was built in the early 18th century, possibly to a design by Sir John Vanbrugh of Castle Howard fame.

With a striking facade of red brick ornamented with stone, it's an imposing sight as you come up the drive.

The property went through several ownerships over the years, and in the Second World War it was used as accommodation by RAF pilots who flew out of the nearby air base on bombing raids. The guidebook tells how pilots would cycle back to the hall in the peace of the dawn after a night-time bombing raid, seeing it as an oasis of calm.

When the National Trust took the property over in 1958 on the death of its last owner, the Countess of Chesterfield, it was virtually devoid of contents and in shabby condition.

There was a major restoration project in the 1970s, and the dearth of contents was solved by an agreement with the National Portrait Gallery for the loan of a large part of its collection of paintings from the late 17th and early 18th centuries. The house is filled with grand furnishings, including huge four-poster beds, such as a crimson damask state bed in the State Bedchamber.

The bed, brought to Beningbrough in 1918, is viewed as one of the finest Baroque state beds to survive in England with an elaborately fringed and braided backboard complete with a Viscount's coronet. After visiting the hall, we rounded off an enjoyable afternoon with tea and cakes in the tearooms.

Fact file

To get there: By car, take the A19 out of York and house is signposted off the main road just before you reach Shipton by Beningbrough. Or if you're feeling energetic, you could take a cycle route out of York along river side from Lendal Bridge.

Admission: Adults, £5 house and gardens, £3.50 grounds only. Children, £2.50 house and gardens, £1.70 grounds only. Family ticket, (two adults and up to three children) £12.50 (£8.70 grounds only).

Open 11am to 5.30pm, last admission to house 4.30pm, last admission to grounds 5pm. More details: 01904 470666.

PICTURE: Beningbrough Hall, currently exhibiting works from the National Gallery