July: Castle Howard revisited

We'd been having a heatwave. A horrendous, 30 degree plus even late into the night level of heatwave. Therefore, for my July day out, I wanted to choose somewhere with indoor options, as well as maybe some shady woods to walk round. Castle Howard had been on my "maybe I should visit" list for ages. I have been before, but I would be willing to bet that it's been the better part of 15 years since I was here, and there were parts of it that I couldn't remember, or wasn't sure if I'd muddled up with other stately homes. It was time to refresh myself. Even if, when I was getting ready on the morning of my trip, I clocked that the temperatures had dropped and the skies were clouded over! Typical!

The entry way to Castle Howard is through a courtyard stable block that had some really nice shops and a cafe. You could go sit in this part, or browse the farm shop without going through to the ticketed areas, so it would be really nice if you lived locally to just pop up and see what's new. I'd booked online, so I just had a short queue to be issued with a pass to the house before I headed into the grounds. It had been such a long time since I had been in the house, that I had forgotten an awful lot of it. It really is stunning inside, with such amazing painted ceilings in the large central hall that has the doors overlooking the gardens. I was inside the house for maybe an hour and a half, but I do have to admit that I am one of those visitors who reads every single card/plaque/display board, so I do suspect that if you're not as fastidious as I am about these things, you could probably see it all in under an hour. It's not a particularly huge place, which feels like an  odd thing to say about a stately home, but all of the rooms are interesting. They also lean into their association with Brideshead Revisited. I have to confess that I have never seen the film, or the TV series, or even read the book, so it was slightly lost on me when there was a board outlining what scenes were shot in what room. However, any filming location that boasts a floppy haired Matthew Goode amongst its illustrious past stars automatically has my attention.

After leaving the house, I went and explored the grounds by walking through the wooded area up to where the reservoir is. I then followed the perimeter round to the Temple of the Four Winds, where there was a really cool book exhibit. There were tables all round the outside of the temple, with lots and lots of different books laid out on it of all genres. This was to encourage the stopping and taking a minute to sit and enjoy a bit of reading time. Inside, there was a huge bookcase, with projected lines from books that were being read out over a speaker. Outside the temple, I went down towards where the small lake was and ate my packed lunch. You will never convince me that a cheese and ham sandwich isn't the finest food known to man when it's wrapped in tinfoil and consumed on a bench in the countryside. There's nothing more relaxing!

Then it was onwards to the final walk to the gardens with the famous Atlas Fountain. However, due to the weather and lack of rainfall, the fountains were switched off so I didn't get the full dramatic effect. However, it's still beautiful to see the fountain and the house together. Also, you know you're getting old when you find yourself impressed by the size of the vegetables that they're growing in the walled garden. I did spend a lot of time in there, looking at the plants, which probably is a sign that I'm no longer a spring chicken!

How long was I there?

I arrived at opening time of 10am, and I left just before 3pm, so I had the best part of 5 hours there. I would say that I was in the main house for about an hour and half of that time, with the rest being in the gardens and grounds. 

How much did I spend?

House and garden entry: £27

Would I go back?

I think so. I would like to see it at Christmas, but I may choose another house this year to go see all decorated for the festivities. Castle Howard is a place that charges an entry fee for one day, not an annual pass, or entry over multiple visits. This is fine, but I did feel that if they'd done an annual pass, I might be more inclined to come back again in winter. I'd probably have ended up buying a whole load of overpriced Christmas decorations though, so maybe its for the best!


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