A necessity: Water because the National Trust is not just about country houses, it's about countryside, mountains and walking, which I do a lot of. I take a bottle of water whenever I'm going outdoors.

A luxury: A duvet. Before we got married, my husband and I travelled around Spain in a Volkswagen Beetle and we had a duvet in the back. When we couldn't find anywhere to stay, we would go to sleep wrapped in the duvet.

A memento: I love picking up pebbles from beaches. Although I can't remember where each one is from, the last one I picked up was from the beach in Formby, where I was looking at prehistoric footprints preserved in the sand.

If only: I wish there was an integrated system so that visitors could get to Trust properties easily.

• Gaynor Aaltonen is editor of The National Trust Magazine