Castle Howard’s interiors are poor value for money; stick to the grounds

The last stop on our Northern “staycation” was yet another stately home made famous by its use as a film set: Castle Howard.

I’ve always been a bit underwhelmed by the place, which I feel lives almost completely off its Brideshead Revisited associations without doing much to build upon them. On my last visit in 2009 they’d caught a fresh wave of attention on the back of the new film version the year before and had updated attractions at the house dramatically. Nothing has changed since. In fact, several of 2009’s highlights had disappeared (garden tours with access into the follies, special exhibitions and film sets). This may have been due to COVID-19, of course, but unlike the Percys who’ve dropped the price of admission to Alnwick to reflect the current limited offer, the Howards have kept their tickets at a lofty £22, at the top tier of cultural attraction pricing. To add insult to injury, with post-COVID reopening they’ve actually eliminated free entry to Historic Houses Association members that all the other member houses we visited continued to honour.

Regular readers of this blog will know I have no problem spending money on cultural experiences ... indeed, it’s the raison d’etre of my paycheque ... but I want value for money, and Castle Howard’s interiors do not occupy the exalted place their price tag to visit promises. The only thing of distinctive significance here is Vanbrugh’s soaring central hall and dome, and the two corridors off of it filled with the family’s collection of Roman sculpture. There’s no denying that this is one of England’s architectural masterpieces. But the garden-facing rooms off this core are basic spaces renovated by film companies during their work here; fire gutted the core and the house’s East wing in 1940. 

A handful of drawing rooms in the West wing survived the disaster, but they’re unexceptional. Damask-covered walls hung with a mix of family portraits and landscapes, mahogany furniture and stately chimney pieces. All very nice, but there are no memorable masterpieces here and you’ll see similar ... indeed better ... examples of English country house interiors at nearby Beningbrough, Newby or Harewood, all of which charge less and offer more. Vanbrugh’s vast, echoing library/hall exemplifies the problem here: fine architecture, but similar to his much better example at Blenheim Palace and with little to look at within. If ever a house was ripe for the addition of modern art or alternative collections, this is it. A distinctive chapel and some bedrooms could have added value to the ticket price, but they were closed due to social distancing requirements.

Unless you are a big Brideshead or Vanbrugh fan who hasn’t been here before, you’ll be far better served by the £12.95 grounds admission.

This is one of England’s greatest designed landscapes, carefully created to mimic the Arcadian scenes dotted with classical buildings that were so popular at the time of the house’s construction. Long, dead-straight entry drives coming from both North and South are both dignified with obelisks, triumphal arches and other Roman ephemera, creating the feel of the Appian Way heading for the imperial capital. 

At the center isn’t the forum but the house, unique beneath its enormous dome and encrusted with classical columns, pilasters and ornament. The Caesars would feel at home. A formal garden with parterres and an enormous fountain of Atlas with the world on his shoulders sets off the back of the house, while lawns sloping down to a man-made lake dignify the front.

It’s the broad, grassy lanes radiating from the house to architectural highlights in the landscape that really make the place a delight to explore, particularly for dog walkers. The stroll up to the Temple of the Four Winds, your way marked by a procession of Roman statues on plinths until you get to the noble building and are rewarded with views over magnificent landscape towards the Howard Mausoleum (yet another idealised Roman temple) is one of England’s greatest walks. 

There’s also a vast walled garden here. Once the practical, hard-working engine behind the house’s kitchens and floral arrangements, now it’s sub-divided into a chequerboard of different garden rooms, each with distinctive colour schemes, designs and ornaments. These gardens are as exceptional an example of the potential of a walled garden as the staterooms are underwhelming representatives of their type. And it’s worth noting that the grounds are open for a couple of hours after the house closes, meaning you can enjoy something near solitude at the end of the day.

And thus ended our 2020 staycation, as full of new sights, high culture, fine food and great wines as any  foreign holiday. 

Throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s, when I was still resident in the United States, I was obsessed by England. I spent as many vacations here as I could and talked my way into every British work assignment I could get, primarily to enable manic weekend sightseeing. Since moving to the UK permanently at the turn of the century, however, I’ve gone increasingly native, equating “holiday” with places where people speak foreign languages, produce olive oil and need sun protection. I can’t deny a wistful hunger to head to Heathrow and end up someplace where they make more wine that they drink. But our adventures in Yorkshire, Durham and Northumberland have reminded me why more than 40 million foreign visitors a year descend on this little island to sample its delights, whatever the weather. Closed borders are simply no excuse for not feeling like you’ve had a holiday.  

Top picks for a pandemic-constrained English holiday

After nine weeks in pandemic lockdown, and just in time for the bank holiday weekend, restrictions in the UK started to ease ever so slightly. We could now drive beyond our immediate area to exercise, and meet up with a friend if we maintain the recommended two metre buffer. Thus the highlight of a holiday weekend so often spent in foreign parts was a gentle stroll around the lake at Virginia Water.

From tomorrow, there's a limited re-opening of offices for people who can't work from home. Groups of up to six can gather in gardens, with the usual rules about keeping your distance. No sharing of glassware or cutlery, and you're not supposed to use anyone else's bathroom. So the party potential is pretty limited. A handful of school kids are returning to the classroom (amidst much controversy that it's too early), garden centres have re-opened, car showrooms follow tomorrow and other non-essential shops are promised by mid-June. Given the requirement to follow one-way systems and clean anything anyone has touched, it will still be a long way from normal.

Unlikely as it seems, airlines are starting to advertise again as favourite sun spots like Greece and Portugal hint they'll be open for the British holidays. The Bencards have some potential plans to visit family in Denmark, but we're not optimistic. Practical minds will be looking to a holiday in the UK; something alien to pretty much everyone who can afford a plane ticket. Given the hit that the hospitality industry has taken, however, staying local seems an act of noble patriotism.

Here are a few ideas, if you're in planning mode:

THE NORTHEAST COAST
This is where our reservations are. All cancel-able up to a few days before, of course, since we've already been stung by a load of vouchers rather than cash for the holiday lost at the outset of lockdown.

The stretch of England between York and the Scottish border is packed with history, grand country houses, impressive castles and dramatic landscapes. We're hoping the Royal Armouries Museum will have re-opened by August to allow a pit stop on our way North, but if not we'll go direct to Harrogate. On a long-ago girls' trip I discovered this gracious, elegant town, similar to Bath in its Georgian architecture and origin as spa to the rich. York is an easy drive from there and one of England's most interesting historic cities, though we explored it on a pre-Christmas jaunt not too long ago so will probably forgo another visit. Castle Howard (of Brideshead fame) is probably the blockbuster country house in the area but my favourite is the Robert Adam-designed Newby Hall, and there are a brace of National Trust properties as well. If interiors aren't open, we could explore the evocative Fountains Abbey ruins or ramble over dramatic moorland.

From there we continue North for a couple of nights at Lumley Castle, a nostalgic trip down memory lane for me as it was the first English historic property I ever stayed in, back in 1982. The surrounding area offers us breathtaking views over the North Sea at Robin Hood's Bay, Dracula associations and jet jewelry in Whitby and the Medieval majesty of Durham.

Then we push on to Alnwick, where I've found what looks to be a world-class boutique hotel in The Cookie Jar. I loved Alnwick Castle when I visited 30+ years ago, but since then it's had the benefit of (and cash infusion from) Harry Potter fame and a new Duchess of Northumberland known for her innovative gardening style. Nearby on the coast is Bamburgh Castle, one of England's most dramatically-sited on a headland over the North Sea. The ruins of Lindisfarne Abbey are on a tide-isolated island off the coast and Hadrian's Wall sneaks through the landscape. I've hedged our bets. Even if we can't get inside anyplace, there will be lots to look at.

PEMBROKESHIRE
One of the most beautiful bits of the UK, this southwestern tip of Wales is full of gorgeous sandy beaches (that's Barafundle Bay below) and long stretches of picturesque countryside. It's remarkably isolated and undiscovered (or at least it was, when I was last here in the mid-'00s) because there are no major towns and ... once you drop off the road to the ferry to southern Ireland ... it's not a through-point to anywhere else.

It slipped behind the Northeast on my list because of less variety; fabulous for the great outdoors but limited on sightseeing fronts. St. Davids does have a charming small cathedral and some interesting ruins of a bishop's palace. Pembroke Castle ... though not as good as the more famous strongholds of North Wales ... is still an impressive site with notable Tudor history. Boat excursions offer puffin watching. My biggest holiday planning challenge, however, was that Pembrokeshire's dog-friendly accommodations all seem to be rental cottages or rather unexciting, slightly-downmarket B&Bs. There seems to be a dearth of upscale boutiques or small manor house hotels in the area.

DARTMOOR
The brooding, majestic wilderness immortalised in The Hound of the Baskervilles also offers sleepy villages, clear babbling brooks for high summer wading and expansive views. You can drop off the moor for sightseeing in Plymouth or Exeter, but a Dartmoor holiday is about the great outdoors. I've written about it before here, and it's one of the best places in the country if you're thinking about a walking holiday. Especially with dogs. And given that Dartmoor is one of the least-populated places in Britain, social distancing shouldn't be much of a problem. The experience will be much better, though, if the moor's many picturesque pubs can be open to serve walkers.

NORFOLK
If a return surge of Covid-19 closes hotels in the Northeast, we may beg a socially-distanced guest room with friends here. Like Pembrokeshire, Norfolk is an appendage of England rather than on a central path. In this case it's the hump bulging East in the middle of the country. Thus you only get people who mean to be here, rather than any passing through. The beaches are broad and sandy, especially at Holkham where low tide reveals one of the largest stretches in the world. There's no salubrious effect of the Gulf Stream here, though, so only the hardiest souls on the warmest days would ever dream of swimming.

The landscape lacks the drama of my other picks, being mostly gently-rolling agricultural fields re-claimed from marshes, but its famous fens offer opportunities for messing about with boats in a unique landscape. If they're open, the county offers one of the most densely-packed selections of grand country houses anywhere in England. My favourite is the remarkable neo-classical pile at Holkham, but it only narrowly tops Houghton Hall, first Prime Minister Robert Walpole's art-packed Baroque manor. There are at least three notable National Trust houses here (my favourite is Ickworth) and there's even one of England's best Medieval castles at Castle Rising. Swaffham is a charming, mostly-Georgian market town and Cromer is an old-world port with fantastic seafood.


It's anyone's best guess what might be open in July and August. Even if national borders are, unless the British government's travel advice changes from its current "don't leave the country" stance, your travel insurance won't be valid. Whether abroad or at home, restaurants, hotels and tourist attractions are desperate to get back in business. Many fear that without the summer season to replenish coffers they'll be out of business for good. Here's hoping things change, and we can venture out into the world in time for a proper summer vacation. Even those who love their homes and gardens are ready for a change of venue. And I feel certain that those of us who've been lucky enough to be employed throughout the pandemic are ready to do our patriotic duty and invest some cash in having fun.

Yorkshire's charms compensate for difficulties getting there

You have to give the M1 its due: It's consistent. In all the years I've lived in the UK, I have never managed a smooth and quick run up this critical North/South motorway. It seems to attract construction, accidents and gridlock like open garbage lures foxes. 

Somewhere in my fifth hour of creeping Northward, I began to question whether the weekend could possibly be worth it. Twenty four hours later, scrambling up the strange formations at Brimham Rocks to view the lush patchwork of Yorkshire Dales spreading to the horizon, sun on my face and distant bleating of hundreds of lambs in my ears, I had to admit the answer was "Yes". 

Yorkshire is a pain to get to, but once you're there it is surely one of England's best counties. 

 Our objective was countryside, walking and a bit of culture, all of which come thick and fast in this county. We mostly avoided the towns, getting only close enough to York to see the outline of the minster, and spending just an hour strolling through the early Victorian charms of Harrogate. The discovery of the trip was, without doubt, the aforementioned Brimham Rocks. 

The rocks are large formations, some up to three or four stories tall, worn away by erosion into truly bizarre shapes. My favourite, thanks to my university nickname, was the Dancing Bear. You'll note the resemblance. The rocks are scattered across the top of a long, partly-wooded ridge, as if some gigantic child had spilled his collection of prized stones over the land. The hilltop situation means the impact of the strange shapes is augmented by spectacular views of up to 40 miles. You can climb, walk round, lounge atop or simply admire the stones; a circle of the whole site is about three miles. 

 

Equally impressive, though the work of man rather than glaciers, is the landscape at nearby Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal. Fantastically picturesque abbey ruins sit at the bottom of a deep, wooded valley, bisected by a sparkling stream. When the late 18th/early 19th century appreciation of the picturesque was at its height, a local aristocrat noted the potential of the site and "improved" it with a landscape garden stretching along the stream below the abbey. The water follows its natural course to a lake, then disappears under a bridge to reappear in the next valley as a set of rigidly sculptural pools dotted with classical statuary. Paths lead up into the hills where you discover a range of follies in different architectural styles, all carefully situated to take in the views below. This ranks, along with Stowe and Stourhead, amongst the country's finest landscape gardens. 

 

Yorkshire is not, however, just about the great outdoors. There's an impressive density of country houses up here; probably greater than any place in England outside of the Southeast. The obvious magnet for most tourists is Castle Howard, and we didn't resist its lure. I had been there on one of my first trips to England and wasn't that impressed. Many know the house through productions of Brideshead Revisited and have high expectations of the exterior and the grand hall. But few appreciate that most of the house was destroyed in the 1940s, leaving the majority of its state rooms an empty shell. When I visited in the '80s, 

I remember being irritated at paying quite a lot to see a small handful of rooms. It just wasn't value for money on the average country house scale. I am happy to report that things have changed a lot in 20 years, and the Howard family now makes the most of what's on hand. There are still only a handful of state rooms to see, with the main hall and long gallery being both most impressive and most familiar from the film sets. But now there's a series of guided tours of the grounds led by an articulate and scholarly lady; a fascinating exhibit on the women of the family in the burnt-out section of the house; a reconstructed first floor with exhibits on the two versions of Brideshead filmed here, one of the film sets left in situ and great views over the main hall; a range of quirky, interesting shops and a good buffet-style restaurant with an elegant dining room. 

The weather, though windy enough to chill our bones, was sunny and clear. Thus the walks through the bluebell woods and around the gardens were just as visually stirring as the architectural treasures inside. Like Fountains Abbey, Castle Howard's grounds are a giant landscape garden with long views over rolling landscape to outrageously lavish garden follies. 

The Howard Mausoleum is just as beautiful, architecturally, as the house itself, and the temple of the Four Winds is certainly one of the most pleasing follies to be found in any garden. One of the guided tours offered us the chance to get inside the latter; a rare treat. Were I very, very rich, this is exactly the kind of place I'd create to house al fresco dinner parties. I think I'd get along well with those old Howards... 

While almost everyone knows Castle Howard, few have heard of Beningbrough Hall. Which is a shame, because this place is a little jewel. An elegant, simple mid-Georgian house of red brick with white stone accents, it's grand enough to be showy but small enough that you could fantasise about moving right in. (If you won a big lottery.) Beningbrough didn't come to the National Trust with any furnishings, but they've done a fine job over the past few decades getting some appropriate pieces in place. It's the house itself that appeals here, however, especially the cool, elegant entry hall and the magnificent cantilevered staircase. Beningbrough also serves as the overflow gallery for the National Portrait Gallery's collection of 18th century portraits, and the room stewards are well informed about who's hanging on the walls and why they're interesting. The dining room holds half of the portraits of the Kit Kat Club, an 18th century gang of movers and shakers who decided to be immortalised in unified style. The scandal, political intrigue and relationship dramas associated with the men in the portraits convinced me that someone is missing one hell of a historic soap opera opportunity here. Just as good as the Tudors, but fresh and unfamiliar. Maybe I should be pitching to Showtime... 

We were particularly impressed with how efficiently the place is set up to appeal to visitors. In addition to the room stewards, several of whom are costumed as people in the portraits, there's an informative audio tour of the whole house. This comes as part of your admission fee and is, sadly, still a rare treat at National Trust properties. On the top floor you'll find a series of exhibits for kids that are so engaging you'll wish you were ten again. 

We were dying to have our faces photographed and laid over those of the famous portraits, but elbowing the tykes out of the way didn't seem appropriate. 

Add to all of this a range of attractive walled gardens, a well-stocked farm shop and a charming village with a cozy pub serving hearty traditional fare and you'll see why we spent most of a day here. Amazingly, none of these attractions is more than 30 miles away from any other. Once you've fought your way up the motorway, you don't have to do much more driving as everything is on your doorstep. We headed south vowing that we really needed to head up here again soon. There's a lot left to see once you break free of that damned motorway.