Castle Howard is a continued residence of the Howard family who have opened their home to the public for 300 years. Located about 20 minutes north-east of York, it was the perfect stop for my short journey to York coming from near Scarborough.

From the Castle’s Website:

You can visit the website for more information. Click here:
www.castlehoward.co.uk

According to my Sat Nav (GPS) the distance from the initial property gate to the next property gate was about a mile. “Follow the road for one mile,” she told me. “It’s not a road,” I explained to her, “it’s a driveway.” Easy to confuse, long as it was.
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After entering the second gate, there was still a large area of ground within.
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This large oblesque stands in the centre of the Howard’s traffic circle. For the main home, take the third exit. (Turn right.) I expect the other directions lead to further property access, but I did not travel them.
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I started my visit to Castle Howard with a delicious lunch at their Courtyard Cafe which you can see in this photo ahead to the right. Of course the cafe has an interior dining area for in-climate days. There is also another dining option in the Castle itself with both indoor and outdoor seating.
Do plan to lunch here if you visit.
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The front of this sizable home faces a lovely sculptured garden.

Perhaps just as deep as it is wide.
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This would be considered the front yard. (Front garden if you’re British.)
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This fountain in the middle of the front garden.
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The back door entry where visitors are welcomed. Seems nicer than a servant’s entry though.
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Some of the hallways open to visitors.
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I like the fun variety of different types of 4-poster beds.
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View into the central area between the front and two side wings. This “courtyard” is open to the lovely country view with lake.
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View from the back of house.
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Perhaps because I come from a family of engineers who operate in heating and cooling industries, I always seem to find different radiators to be interesting.
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This and the next few images are of the main central hall.
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The Howards became friends with William Morris when they hired his firm to do much of their wallpapering and window glasses. Here is a display of various Morris wallpapers used throughout the house.
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Here you can better see some Morris designs. I have always liked these myself.
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The front garden hedging used to be more elaborate than today.
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But the fountain is still lovely.
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