Largely thanks to all the preparatory work put in by Janine Nahapiet and her team, the first NGS Open Day was a roaring success.  The sun shone, the gardens looked wonderful, and everything ran like clockwork. All the tickets – 240 of them – were sold in advance.

The day attracted a total of 257 visitors and almost £2,000 was raised for charity.  The feedback from many of the visitors was a plea to make this an annual event.  The picture shows volunteer guide Maxwell Clarke with his group at the start of a tour.  Bringing up the rear in his “minder”, Renate Miller.