Monday at Castle Howard - Part I

Eleven years ago, my sister-in-law took us to Castle Howard for the first time. The place made a lasting impression on us and we always talked about going back, but it never worked out - until Monday (27 July).

I had booked our tickets for the house and gardens online while still in Germany, and visiting the house required to choose a time slot to regulate the number of people roaming the place. Ours began at 11:00, and we arrived a few minutes after that time at the ticket office and proceeded straight to the house.

Inside, there are friendly and knowledgeable volunteers in most rooms as well as handheld boards so that one can wander around at will, have a close look and read the relevant information.

There is currently an exhibition to celebrate 300 years of Vanbrugh, who designed the house. We found that very interesting, and a large model of the house and grounds showed the extent of the estate and how carefully it had all been planned and carried out. Vanbrugh lead a very adventurous life and comes across as a fascinating man, loyal and generous friend, kind family man and very talented writer and designer. My sister promptly ordered a book about him, which I am certainly going to borrow from her eventually.

We remembered most of the rooms from our 2015 visit, but a few things had been restored or replaced since. Click here if you want to compare the photos from back then with the ones I took on Monday.

Sculpture of Roman goddess Minerva, made of black marble and amber-coloured onyx

The interior of the chapel is by William Morris.

We browsed the gift shop at the end of the tour and found everything in there of very good quality (priced accordingly) and presented to high standards.

Lunch at the Fitzroy Café was next, and then we proceeded to the gardens - but just as 11 years ago, that will be another post.