York, North Yorkshire.

Hands up those of you who have never heard of or visited this beautiful grand house, then you have missed out. Only 15 miles from York and accessed via the A64, it oozes history, heritage, acres of grounds but the best bit is the diversity it offers year in year out. The estate is constantly devising ways to enthral the hordes of visitors, thinking up new and wonderful ways to entertain all ages, whilst bringing in much needed revenue as the on-going maintenance is colossal.

This is home for the eighth generation of Howard’s and when social functions arise the whole property can be in use. The castle has featured in various film and TV productions over the years, including Brideshead Revisited, Bridgerton, Victoria, along with Garfield:A Tale of Two Kitties, and in 2018 the house was host to the Arctic Monkeys filming a video for one of their singles.

Work begun in 1699 and took over 100 years to complete, and now this 145-room stately home is a major heritage attraction. Along with an arboretum of 120 acres filled with rare trees – a joint venture run with Kew Gardens – miles of footpaths and bridleways to discover in the Howardian Hills – a designated National Landscape and a gorgeous walled garden that becomes vibrant in the summer.

Take a stroll around the Atlas Fountain, built in 1850 and still commands a ‘wow’, as does the immaculate grassed gardens. Benches are dotted around – we ate our picnic whilst soaking up the ambience – and had a sunny day to boot. Mooch around the lake, pop along to the gorgeous Temple of the Four Winds, taking in the magnificent views of The New River Bridge and the Mausoleum.  

In 1940 tragedy struck when a fire took hold starting in one of the chimneys, causing the glass dome above the Great Hall to collapse, leaving a third of the building open to the elements. Rooms were destroyed, original art work burnt, witnessing this destruction must have been horrendous. Work began in 1960 to rebuild and restore and is still on-going today, with curators continuing to uncover its rich history. The cost has been phenomenal.

Upon entering the house, we were asked to leave our backpacks in a storage room, you are allowed to take photos but no flash photography. The grand rooms have original artwork and furniture with each room supplying a friendly, informative volunteer guide. The music room displays family photos and two piano’s one of which is over 200 years old. The chapel is beautiful and still in use today.   

Lots of free parking is available with several electric charging points, and a fabulous colourful road train runs trips from the car park to the house at no charge, a great hit with the kids. There is so much to see and do for the whole family, including the boat house café and kitchen on the bank of the Great North Lake along with boat trips – open during school holidays and weather permitting. The gardens are dog friendly. Skelf Island for your two-legged darlings is a fantastic adventure playground with treetop nest structures, rope bridges, slides and much more – including birthday parties – sadly hubby and I didn’t have time to visit this part of the grounds.

Throughout the year many events and festivals are held, including dog show, classic car show, and up until last year a brilliant balloon fiesta, hopefully this will be continued from next year. For those wanting to spend several days exploring, the estate now have holiday cottages, lodges and a camping & caravan park. 

Special occasions are celebrated including Easter and Halloween, but my interest was piqued when our guide informed us how the house is decorated for Christmas, with a huge tree, Father Christmas’ grotto, willow making workshops, toasting marshmallows by the tree, special afternoon teas and with Santa’s grotto being held in the boathouse. This year the theme is ‘Alice’s Christmas Wonderland’ being held from 15 November until 5 January. Calm sessions are available and designed for a more relaxed environment for sensitive visitors. Have to admit it sounds amazing.

Along with garden centre, gift shop and cafes there really is something for everyone. We had a lovely coffee and cake in the courtyard café. Book your entry on line and you will save a couple of pounds and although you are required to provide a time slot, we were informed this isn’t regimented. I apologise if you think I’ve gone on a bit, but I could wax lyrical about Castle Howard, we will definitely go back next year and probably book our touring caravan in for a couple of days. I hope you can go see and love it as much as hubby and I do. Make sure you check the website before you visit.