A country house is opening its doors to offer men and women the chance to brush up on their culinary skills.

Eggleston Hall, in Teesdale, County Durham, will soon begin cookery classes run by some of country's most celebrated chefs.

One of the courses will be a two-day men-only course on basic cookery skills. To be held in May and October, it will be run by the former Good Household food writer Sarah Nops, who previously ran the Cordon Bleu Cookery School in London.

Students will learn to cook lunches and dinners, including traditional home-made roasts and desserts.

In September there will be three courses run by Rosemary Shrager, who has worked for chefs Pierre Koffman and Jean-Christophe Novelli, as well as appearing in her own television series Rosemary on the Road.

Eggleston Hall will also run cookery courses for beginners and more advanced cooks. They cost between £345 and £1,850, which includes accommodation and meals.

A spokesman for Eggleston Hall, owned by Sir William Gray and his wife Juliet, said: "Eggleston Hall was well known as a cookery school between the 1970s and 1990s under the direction of Rosemarie Gray.

"Now William and Juliet have decided to re-launch the hall as a cookery school, building on its reputation for excellence."

For more information, visit the website at www.egglestonhall.co.uk or call (01833) 650553.