TAKE a step back in time to one of Dorset’s most beautiful houses and learn about its hidden past.

The Historic Houses Association has announced a new Haunted and Horrible Histories Trail that will link different member properties around the UK.

The new trail will link members’ properties around the country which are either believed to be haunted by the spirits of yesteryear, or have seen misfortune and troubles.

In the South West the new trail will cover Athelhampton House near Dorchester, Iford Manor and Longleat House in Somerset.

A spokesman for the Historic Housing Association said: “We represent more than 1,600 properties, all of which have stood proudly for many hundreds of years, and most of which are still lived in, often by the most recent generation of its original inhabitants. It is therefore no surprise that tales of ghostly sightings and stories of mishaps are plentiful.”

He added: “Delve in and tread the floorboards that former staff roam, and where lovers have met their tragic end.

“Explore rooms in which soldiers have stayed and not yet left, visit the chapels that still hear monks praying, and feel the torment and humiliation of witch trials.

“Whether you’re an avid ghost hunter, a lover of historic houses, or just looking for an adventure, we dare you to go on a Haunted and Horrible Histories Trail.”