Castle Howard Gardens

Because Mark is an idiot we have never been here before despite driving almost by the front gate several occasions in the past.
What a great place.
Ancestral home of the Howard family, it’s been through some ups and downs since building started in in 1702. Had the almost obligatory country house fire in 1944 and parts are still not renovated.

Huge place designed by John Vanbrugh who also planned Blenheim Palace.
Good only to work on big things. You can see the similarities between the two although the guide suggested this was a more “domestic “ set of buildings! If by domestic you mean the size of a city block.

Has the biggest family mausoleum in Northern Europe with spaces for 67 and a restoration bill of over 17million pounds. Death is not cheap.

Had sun, rain, wind during the day, a real Yorkshire day.

Of course has a couple of Follies; The Temple of The Four Winds, an obelisk the size of Sydney Tower, a pyramid a little smaller than Giza and a fountain called Atlas. Unfortunately he’s not working as the water levels are low due to the lack of rain.

Will just have to come back to see.Read more