As millions watched the televised proceedings of the Queen Mother's funeral some sought quieter contemplation and reflection.

And few settings could have been more tranquil and fitting than Gibside Estate, ancestral home of the Queen Mother.

The only National Trust property in the region to remain open yesterday, with all media activity curtailed while visitors paid tribute to the trust's patron.

An air of complete calm hung over the grounds as mourners filed into the Chapel to show their respects where four small bouquets of flowers had been left.

One read, "In memory of Queen Elizabeth, a great Queen, Queen of the People, a beautiful lady, rest in peace".

Another from the Bell family of Whickham read simply: "In loving memory of a great Queen."

There was no formality to the day. As the time arrived for two-minutes silence at 11.30am people carried on ambling up the sunlit Avenue.

Inside the chapel only one couple _ watch in hand _ actively observed the moment before moving off.

By noon, 50 people had signed the book of condolence.

One walker from Burnopfield remarked in passing: "I know everyone is watching television, but I wanted to be here. I know of the estate's associations with the Queen Mother."

Property manager Tony Walton said last night: "It was exceptionally busy after lunch time. It looks as though we are heading to 500 visitors for the day, which is nowhere near what we expected.

"We would normally have up 140 visitors on a weekday. "People we did speak to commented that there was a bit of a spirit around the place. "Because the whole estate used to be long to the Queen's family and her ancestors are interred in the crypt here."

The Queen Mother used to visit the estate with her father in the early 1900s, when it was no longer occupied by the family and the buildings had started to deteriorate.

The family would have had picnics outside the banqueting house, with a view of the whole estate, before it was forested.

The Queen Mother's last visit to the estate was in 1966 at the rededication of the Chapel.

By yesterday afternoon more than 800 people had left messages in the book of condolence.

The book will remain open until the end of the Royal period of mourning on April 19 _ allowing time for many more to pay their silent tributes.