Castle Howard

Castle Howard in North Yorkshire is somewhere that I’ve wanted to visit for ages but it always seemed a bit far away. Following a glowing recommendation from a friend we decided to make the effort and went last Sunday. It’s a stately home owned and still lived in by the Howard Family. Most of it was built between 1699 and 1712 for the 3rd Earl of Carlisle. It is set in huge grounds dotted with statues, lakes and monuments. 

We drove from Leeds and it wasn’t as far as we thought. It’s just past York on the A64 and only took about an hour in the car. It is very well signposted and the approach is absolutely gorgeous passing through ancient archways. There is a large free car park and apparently a good bus service from York. As with all private properties it wasn’t cheap at £23.00 for a family of four (£33.50 if you want to look at the house too) but you could easily spend all day there, so I think it’s good value. Our kids were given a lovely free pack with colouring-in and a trail to follow.

First we walked through the long walled flower filled garden. It had the perfect kid combination of low hedges and grass to rampage around. Then we walked round one of the several lakes and up to the impressive Temple of the Four Winds.

After that we ventured into Ray Wood. It is a great combination of wild woodland for exploring, interesting planting, good paths and the occasional surprise statute. I have visions of having a picnic in one of the glades, if it ever stops raining.

The Mr kindly took the kids to the adventure playground while I had a look round the house. I’d really recommend visiting the house. It has lots of treasures including important painting and porcelain collections. They welcome kids, but I have to admit I quite liked going round on my own.

According to one of the very friendly and chatty guides, the yellow colour in this dinner service was made with arsenic. They realised it was poisonous when the workers started dying. Apparently now it’s just for show. (really!!) 

The adventure playground is great with loads of wooden structures suitable for different ages from toddlers to bigger kids. Ours liked the terrifying high slides best. The playground is conveniently situated next to the lovely lakeside café and ice-cream stand. I always rate playgrounds on my ability to get a decent coffee nearby so a definite big tick. After that we were all suitably exhausted and got the fab ‘land train’ back to the car park.

I would definitely recommend a visit to Castle Howard. It fits my requirements for somewhere child and rampage friendly but very pleasant for the grown ups too.