Staggering statistics, strange facts and all kinds of surprising stuff from the National Trust. Haunted houses, baffling objects, bizarre buildings and distinctly curious characters.

• Who needs an upside-down lighthouse? • How can you tell a gargoyle from a hunky punk? • What are the top 10 historical toilets? • Where’ s the best place to see a UFO? •   Why would you hang toast on a tree?

Welcome to this smorgasbord of  strangely compelling facts and figures about the National Trust.

Find out what lurks under the floorboards  of its grandest homes and hides behind the  shrubs in its gardens. Meet some of the curious  characters who lived at its properties,  and discover the unusual jobs carried out  by its staff. Pit your wits against  National Trust curators to identify  the oddest things in their care.

For secrets, surprises and  strange things of all kinds, read on.

Ian Allen is the compiler of several joke books and a cricket quiz book, and has been a member of the National Trust for decades. He loves the wide range of properties and the epic sweep of the landscape of the Trust, but is even more interested in the quirky stories that lie behind the history.