What makes Britain's great houses great?

Britain is full of palaces, castles and so-called great houses but what exactly is it that makes them some of the best in the world?

Last week, I visited Harwick Hall in Derbyshire. Set in the serene Derbyshire countryside, this remarkable example of Elizabethan architecture is a real treasure. From the rolling snow-topped hills that surround to form the estate to the collection of centuries old tapestries hanging from the walls of almost every room, Hardwick is a great place to visit if you're interested in history.

But there is one thing missing...

As an attraction, the house built for the formidable 16th century courtier, Elizabeth, Countess of Shrewsbury, better known as Bess of Hardwick, is one of my favourites. When there, you can really feel that you have stepped back in time. Aside from the occasional rope blocking certain routes and protecting the antique furniture, this house is one of the few that really makes you feel that you are visiting the countess herself back in Elizabeth times. But unlike my other faves, such as Castle Howard, Chatsworth House (another one of Bess's) and even Buckingham Palace, this great house is no longer lived in.

When I visited Versailles near Paris, the huge, gilded palace of France's Louis XIV, I did not see a place where kings, queens and noblemen once lived. I saw a museum. The same goes for the Louvre, which today is better known for housing the Mona Lisa rather than once being a royal home. Part of my interest in these houses is that they served a purpose other than tourism and thankfully in Britain, this is something that we still have.

The Duke of Devonshire still lives at Chatsworth, The Marquess of Bath still occupies Longleat, Windsor Castle, the largest occupied castle in the world, is still the weekend retreat of Queen Elizabeth II.

It's this sense of the past in the present, the heirs of previous nobles and royals still walking the same hallways that their ancestors did that makes these houses worth visiting. And even better, there's a chance that you may run into a lord or lady, giving a tourist attraction a heart and soul.

Somehow though, the unoccupied palatial houses of Britain still conjure a certain feeling in me that cannot be matched in foreign palaces. Maybe it's because I know that not too far from there, there are plenty of houses still used as such by their original aristocratic families and I hope, despite a changing world and economic difficulties, that this can continue for many years to come.