Castle Howard Reviews Summary

Historical Building and Landscape

Pros:

• "A beautiful historical building and surrounding landscape."
• "The house itself is utterly stunning especially the interior dome."
• "Privately owned house but open to the public for viewing."
• "Located outside of York. Entry goes towards the upkeep and extensive renovation work."
• "Beautiful vast grounds and a very impressive grand manor house."
• "Stunning interiors with a rich history of the building."
• "Beautiful walk round. Kids absolutely loved the playground, pram friendly too."
• "Beautiful grounds, interesting house, take phone earphones for the audio guide."

Cons:

• "No where to sit outside if its raining (which it was)."
• "Grounds were lovely to wander and fully open. You only see a small part of the house."
• "Although the main building of the castle was closed to the public during our visit yet we could sense the grandeur of this place."
• "Thought it was quite expensive compared to say Blenheim where you get free entry for a year on your ticket."
• "We didn't get to explore the house as we had our dog with us so instead just bought the tickets for the garden, a bit pricey."
• "Fabulous day out. Lovely walks around the grounds with the fabulous house of course."
• "Quite a nice place to visit, if on the pricey side."
• "We spent a couple of hours exploring the grounds and gardens."

Facilities and Amenities

Pros:

• "Plenty of parking with adequate disabled spaces."
• "The house is very disabled friendly with wheelchairs available and a stairlift."
• "Staff were friendly, welcoming and informative."
• "The cafe was popular with a decent range of food and drinks available."
• "Plenty of places to sit and rest. Plenty of loos etc."
• "The Farm Shop is good includes butcher and baker."
• "The grounds are large and beautiful."
• "Lots of things to do here. We went round the house which was really interesting."

Cons:

• "It's also a bit cheeky to ask for £6 to park the car I think, this should be part of the ticket price."
• "The restaurant is a little over priced but we had a lovely day."
• "Went specifically for the Christmas in Neverland event which was good but was it worth almost £70 for two adults??"
• "A bit disappointed with the outdoor areas however, no where to sit outside if its raining."
• "The staff have done a great job and it was lovely to see, even as adults."
• "Parking is free, which is unusual for a place like this."
• "The house is closed at the moment, the grounds are beautiful with loads of walls and options for kids."
• "Visited the garden. Beautiful walled garden. Lots of colour and gorgeous scents."

Experience and Themed Events

Pros:

• "We went to the Christmas Neverland experience, and was brilliant."
• "The whole experience was brilliant, even real fires were burning."
• "Highly recommended. We have never been before and our adult group of 3 all enjoyed it."
• "We went after Christmas to Peter Pan's Neverland. The staff have done a great job."
• "Recently visited Castle Howard to view the Christmas decorations."
• "They cleverly used lights for the battles of the lost boys and naughtiness of food fights."
• "The staff were friendly and familiar on the Neverland story."
• "York balloon festival, well organized at Castle Howard who have held it for the first time."

Cons:

• "Wanted to book afternoon tea on their website at the time of booking tickets, but there was nowhere where you could book."
• "Well, what can I say. First time this year with my family. What a big disappointment."
• "Thought it was a lot of money. Maybe a nice mince pie and a little drink would have gone down a treat."
• "I noticed there were stair lifts and ramps around the castle for people with mobility problems."
• "Fabulous place - the gardens and grounds are particularly interesting."
• "Loved watching Pretty Women at Castle Howard."
• "The grounds are very interesting, not the usual Gardens of a Stately home."
• "There were enough places to sit and rest. Plenty of loos etc."