Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens Reviews Summary

Gardens and Grounds

Pros:

• "The quarry gardens are very beautiful with lovely walks through woods and pathways to the medieval castle."
• "Very dog friendly the gardens are amazing."
• "The garden is impressively large in extent and it gives a feeling of a tropical rainforest."
• "The gardens range from the formal to informal to the Quarry walk."
• "The garden is worth a visit in its own right with a wide range of plants and shrubs."
• "The gardens are so beautiful especially the quarry gardens."
• "Gardens are fabulous, integrating rock structures with the wealth of trees and plants."

Cons:

• "Gardens are lovely but quite a walk to reach the Castle."
• "The gardens are somewhat drab it being autumn but the quarry walk is always spectacular."
• "The gardens and quarry walk are gorgeous though."
• "The only ones are outside by the car park and quite a walk if you are down by the castle."
• "The gardens are a joy to walk round."
• "Gardens beautiful at this time of year."
• "The gardens are beautiful and there's plenty of space to keep distant."

Castle and Hall

Pros:

• "The castle itself is lovely although there wasn't as much information unlike in the hall which explained which rooms were which."
• "The castle was definitely worth the 59 steep steps (views were amazing)."
• "The castle was great to walk around."
• "The house is brilliant because without the furniture it can be seen for the working and living space it was."
• "The house within the grounds is very well kept and you are able to explore all of it upstairs and downstairs."
• "The old hall was impressive."
• "The house is grand and imposing but bare inside."

Cons:

• "The hall is in a poor state of repair but still interesting."
• "Disabled access was very limited."
• "The outside of the house is covered in scaffolding."
• "The old xastle in lively too, but again, falling to bits."
• "House very bare, but decorated for Christmas which was nice to see."
• "The stately home, as an empty shell, is an impressive building but a bit dull."
• "The house is basically an empty shell having been completely stripped of everything."

Facilities and Services

Pros:

• "Staff very polite and helpful."
• "Excellent new play area nearby."
• "Much better carpark than a few years ago and ongoing work to improve other access and facilities."
• "The tea room was open and the hot and cold food and drinks on offer were great."
• "The cafe is welcoming and sells gluten free cake."
• "Washroom facilities are really good."
• "Ample parking and well placed toilets."

Cons:

• "Staff seemed a little gloomy not upbeat in the main entrance."
• "Very busy carpark. Hall wasn't quite what I'd expected (without reading up beforehand) so felt a little disappointing."
• "No sausage rolls again at lunchtime."
• "Also I saw a number of people waiting in the cafe queue who gave up and left, very slow."
• "Service is painfully slow due to nothing more than bad organisation, it isn't actually that busy."
• "Tearoom a little disappointing, hot stotties advertised but none were available."
• "The new cafe is terrible, though. You can grow a beard in the time it takes to be served, and regularly run out of dishes."