Castle Howard

Another gorgeous day (they are setting records here for high temperatures), so we took a bus trip to Castle Howard (15 miles and 45 minutes - the road is narrow and winding), the Yorkshire estate considered one of England's finest historical houses.  The Lonely Planet goes so far as to call it: "a work of supreme theatrical grandeur and audacity set in the rolling Howardian Hills, this is one of the world's most beautiful buildings."  I don't know if I'd go that far, but grand and stunning it certainly is - this was the first private residence in Britain built with a stone dome.  The main part of the 'house' was built between 1699-1712. The picture above is just the west wing (built later-  in the 1750s)!  The Howard family (Mom, Dad and 8-year-old twins) still live here and open the estate up to tours from March to October to help pay for the 2 million pound annual upkeep costs.  It is also still a working estate farm and you can purchase beef, cheese, apples, etc. from the estate at a small grocery store on site.  But the place is most famous for being the setting for the filming of both Brideshead Revisited films. 

We toured the house as well as the grounds with their quintessential English gardens.  Here are just a few of too many pictures I took:

A shot of the older east wing and the south-facing "back" of the house, which looks out over the grand lawn and fountain that figure prominently in the Bridesheads films.  One of the features that was considered unusual about this house - for the 17th century - was that the front of the house faces north, while all the state rooms have the south view over the gardens. (The fountain wasn't operating because water levels were low and they have to keep them at a certain level in case of fire.)

And here is the front (just the center portion - we couldn't get far enough away to capture it all):

 Now on to the interior.

The "antique passage" displaying antiquities collected by various Earls of Carlisle.

My attempt to capture a view of the dome in the Great Hall, which rises 66 feet from the floor, has paintings by Pellegrini, and a circular gallery around the top.  Quite an impressive entry hall.

And the "long gallery" lined with portraits of the Howard family, plus works by Holbein and Van Dyck.

There were many other exquisitely decorated and preserved rooms. Above is a glimpse of just one.

We took a guided walk through Ray Woods (part of the huge grounds of the estate) to the pavillion Temple of the Four Winds -  which is situated at a high point to look out over the grounds of the estate. It was designed by the same architect as the manor house and is a piece of art by itself. 

 The interior dome and one wall

And the exterior view of some of the estate grounds:

Now to the gardens....which are apparently at their peak in the spring and early summer, but were still very beautiful and serene now.

Interestingly, when we were waiting for the return bus later in the afternoon we saw many families arriving with their kids to take a little boat trip on the lake, play on the "adventure playground" and have a picnic dinner in the park.  Grand as it is, this isn't some stuffy, exclusive estate.  You can even rent it for your wedding - they were getting ready for one the next day.