SENSES will be stimulated as the eighteenth century is brought to life at the National Trust's Buckland Abbey this season.

The presentation of the abbey's dining room and kitchen has been revised to portray the sights, sounds and smells experienced as a servant working in the Abbey in the 1780s.

After hard work by Buckland's conservation team during the last few months, the newly presented rooms are now open to the public. The Abbey, near Yelverton, has also opened up a servant's staircase, not previously accessible to visitors.

The National Trust's house manager, Helen Royall, said: 'It's great to see people now enjoying the rooms in a different way. Our aim is to bring the history seen by places like Buckland Abbey to life and we hope that if you visit this year, you will get a real feeling of what life was like in Georgian times.'

The dining room will now feature the faint sound of a piano, and the smell of roses, as visitors fold napkins, and the kitchen will be filled with the warmth of an open fire, along with the smell of roast chicken and the sound of the cook working.

Visitor services manager, Jonathan Cummins, said: '2010 is a fantastic time to visit Buckland Abbey. As well as the new atmosphere in the kitchen and dining room, we have more events this year than ever before including our Victorian Servants' Day on April 10 and 11, where the whole family can meet costumed servants and have a go at many of the tasks that were required to run a large household.'