An Idyllic Sunday At Castle Howard

I’m not sure there’s anywhere quite more lovely than Castle Howard in the sunshine. Last Sunday was a truly idyllic day where we basked in the rays of this surprising but welcome May heatwave at the exquisite haven known as the Arboretum, (our first time visiting) and later in the main grounds of Castle Howard, amongst the achingly beautiful surroundings we’re most familiar with.

The Castle Howard Arboretum boasts 120 acres of utter peace and tranquility and made for a soothing start to the half term holiday.

Created in the 1970s, it is now home to over 7,000 international trees where wildlife roam free and visitors are fully immersed in nature there.

With glassy lakes, hidden woodland glades and pretty wildflower meadows, we were enchanted by this magical spot in the Yorkshire countryside.

Most excitingly, the Arboretum is home to one of the UK’s most successful Red Squirrel breeding programmes, set up in 2023 with 15 kits born which have gone on to partner breeding programmes, and into the wild at suitable locations in Wales. Sadly we didn’t see any squirrels (they must have been hiding) but we did spot swans, ducks, peacocks and their young (the latter, I learnt are called peachicks which I think will be replacing ‘chickpea’ as Florence’s new nickname)!

Lunch in the cafe for classic, excellent British fare (tomato soup, cheese quiche, roasted salmon, scones, meringue, millionaire’s shortbread and more) prior to a stroll back to the main grounds (you can grab a regular shuttle bus if you prefer), we hit the famous, award-winning adventure playground Skelf Island but literally missed the boat for a glide across the adjacent lake we’ve enjoyed before and ditto a visit to the house. Next time!

Yum!

Florence burned off all that sugar with fun exploring the playground where we whiled away hours.

What a worthwhile, joyful visit back to Castle Howard. We highly recommend a visit. Have you been?

This was a complimentary press visit but as always my words are honest.