Inside Castle Howard

Castle Howard had amazing grounds, but inside the house was equally beautiful.  Guests enter from a side entrance and begin their walk-through by climbing these steps.

I spy a James.

The hall at the top of the stairs displayed several different sets of the Howard family's china.

I love the rich colors and layers of decoration, though I do stop to wonder what the family's private apartments look like.  Do you think they get tired of living in a period piece and decorate their bedroom with furniture from IKEA?

The floors are lovely, aren't they?

Looking up is also a good idea.

A man on duty in the foyer pointed out how a few of the statues had various parts that were clearly not part of the originals.  Apparently not all of the wealthy English collectors cared about accuracy when they went abroad in search of Greek and Roman treasures for their homes.

I think stone staircases are by far the most beautiful, though I have to admit they wouldn't be fun to go up and down several times a day, and they wouldn't be very practical for toddlers.

Ella and I thought the turquoise room was gorgeous.  It's such a great color.

But of course the light-filled library gave the turquoise room a run for its money as our favorite room.

The wooden floors had been freshly polished that morning for a wedding reception.

My little tourist girl.

The Highly Ornate Chapel

Castle Howard is the setting for both versions of the film, Brideshead Revisted, which I haven't yet read or seen. We also learned about a great fire in the castle in 1940, when much of the house's possessions were saved by the girls' school who had been evacuated there during World War II.  Although many great houses are closed to the public during the winter, Castle Howard is open year round.  Hopefully we'll make another trip to discover more of its history.  It is a little difficult to get to, however.  Although it's only about 30 miles from us it takes about 50 minutes to make the drive. Thus is life in North Yorkshire at times.

The Castle Howard Gardens

One of the fun things about living in England is having so many new and beautiful places to explore when we have visitors.  KJ always likes to plan one big day out when we have guests, and for our time with Billy it was a visit to Castle Howard, which like several places, is not really a castle but a great country house.  

We brought a picnic lunch and ate at the adventure playground before heading for the gardens.  As we've become accustomed to, there were great activities for the kids.

Every now and again we have these really lovely days out where we just find enjoyment in every little thing.  Castle Howard was one of those days.  The gardens were beautiful.  Flowers, vegetables and lovely walks abounded.

We stepped out of a side garden gate into this long lane of trees.  It was just gorgeous.

And the first views of the castle as you emerged from the lane were jaw-dropping.

I always marvel at the creativity of people and the way every view, hedge, and flower bed is so carefully thought out.

There were lots of statues depicting mythological scenes.  And this fountain with Atlas holding the earth on his shoulders is now at the top of the list of my favorite fountains...if such a list existed.

We went for a walk beside the lake, and ever since this moment we're always on the lookout for good "picture trees."

These were some really sweet moments between the kids.  James was feeling tired of walking, and Ella was in a very mothering mood that afternoon, taking such good care of him and encouraging him to keep going.

From the other side of the lake you can see the Mausoleum, which is still the private burial place of the Howard family.

Walking around the grounds was our favorite part, but the house was beautiful, too.  At this point in our day we were all desperate for refreshment, especially James.

We enjoyed a break outside of the cafe before taking a tour around the house.  Castle Howard is one of those wonderful places where you're allowed to take pictures inside, so I'll share those in another post.  This day was definitely a high point of the summer.