08 Aug 2011 01:47:33
Dennis the Menace launches a catapult attack from the ramparts of a majestic castle while Minnie the Minx creates mischief on an iconic stretch of coastline and the Bash Street Kids make "Sir's" life a misery in an English stately home.
Such scenes feature in a special edition of the Beano, which has joined forces with the National Trust as part of an effort to tempt more children into Britain's best buildings and landscapes.
Out on Wednesday, the cover of the beloved comic shows Dennis (together with his faithful hound, Gnasher, of course) and other Beano favourites running amok at a NT castle.
Inside the "Gnashional Trust special" Dennis and his family are to be found visiting Powis Castle in mid-Wales. "EEK it's THEM! Shut the gates!" gardeners bellow as Dennis and Gnasher approach, but boy and dog conquer the castle and fire rotten tomatoes from the battlements.
The edition finds Minnie the Minx breaking out from Beanotown and heading for the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland. Long-suffering "Sir" takes the Bash Street Kids on a school trip to Arlington Court and ends up being shoved into an old trunk for his pains. Billy Whizz decides to zoom around several NT properties in one day after his family cannot decide which one to visit.
Over recent years the NT has been working hard to make its properties more welcoming to children. Tony Berry, visitor experience director, said: "Wherever we can we have tried to take away ropes and show the fun side of our places with everything from mazes to talking portraits.
"We are certain that real life Dennises will find that it is not all 'please don't touch anymore' – in some places you can even have a go on the snooker table."
Berry said he hoped that by working with the Beano, more families would be encouraged to follow in the footsteps of Dennis, Gnasher and the rest.
John-Paul Murphy, head of brand marketing for DC Thomson, the publisher of the Beano, said: "We couldn't think of a better way to prove what fun kids can have at Gnashional Trust properties than by letting the world's most famous menace and his friends from Beanotown loose on them."
