13 September 2016 - Willow House Caravan Park, York

How I hate alarm clocks! But it was that which woke us this morning; Chris had organised a rendez-vous at a local garage to check out the brakes. He had been stressing for some weeks that there was something not quite right with them, a fact that did concern me given that we had those steep hills to travel from Whitby through to York. As it happened, Chris was a little familiar with the road by the time we left and pre-empted the sharp steep corners in the right gear when we did eventually came south. However his concerns had been unfounded; this morning the mechanics assured us that all was in full working order. Still, better to be safe than sorry.

Waiting with the coach loads of tourists

Having battled the early morning traffic, even in the few hundred yards between our camp and the garage, we decided to travel a network of lesser roads to our day’s destination, one we decided on only as we pulled out of the mechanic’s yard.

Castle Howard had been on our must-do list, however I had not for a moment considered it to be on today’s itinerary. But spontaneous decisions spice up one’s life, or so they say. 

This grand tourist attraction lies only about fifteen miles north east of our camping spot, very close to the route we travelled down a few days ago from Maldon. We turned off the crazily busy outer York ring road toward Strensall, then on through Sheriff Hutton and Bulmer, all delightfully picturesque villages.

Castle Howard is not owned or administered by the National Trust or English Heritage, but still owned by the family who built it over three hundred years ago, the Howard family who carry the title of the Earls of Carlisle. Like all families who hold onto these heritage houses by the skin of their teeth, on-going maintenance is barely covered by the entry fees, even though they are rather pricey. Fortunately with our OAP and English Heritage discounts, we were only stung for £13.50 each. Then there was the cost of the guide book and the obligatory ice-creams, but we spent a full day there and delighted in every moment.

Our lunchtime view

We, and a couple of coach loads of Asian tourists, were waiting at the gate before opening time, and we all poured through into the gardens waiting for the house to open half an hour later. We decided to delay our house entry and so joined a guided tour of the architectural history. Jane was marvellously informative and entertaining and invited us to join her again in half an hour for another tour, this one of the Temple of the Four Winds, a folly, or pavilion, sometimes used for weddings, and from which the 360 degree rural views of the Howardian Hills may be enjoyed. 

This is situated slap bang in the middle of an ancient Roman road running from Maldon to the “castle”, which was once the site of the ruined Henderskelfe Castle, and Jane described the Temple as being the loveliest road block in England. 

Down on the Great lake

We sat on the steps of the temple after the tour party broke up, and ate our lunch looking out over the Estate’s beautiful farmland, sharing travel stories with another picnicking couple who had just hiked up the hill. These days the estate covers a mere 3,000 acres, but once was over 13,000 acres and included the villages of Welburn, Bulmer, Slingsby, Terrington and Coneysthorpe. Between 1845 and the 1950s, Castle Howard was served by its own railway station.

After lunch we wandered up through Ray Wood, which was felled for timber back in the 1940s but today is a regenerated shady refuge from the bulk of the tourists and a sanctuary for foxes, badgers, owls and peacocks who stayed out of sight today. 

We checked the Great Lake out, this one of several artificial water features. Our lunch companions had taken a little cruise out over the lake on the electric boat to check the host of water birds. The birds were so very noisy and the café on the jetty area was busy; we headed up the hill to the house and spent a couple of hours wandering about through the rooms, some exquisitely appointed and some still bearing the scars of past disasters.

Southerly view from the upper floor

The massive main house was designed in 1699 by playwright Sir John Vanbrugh, who proceeded with the task aided by Nicholas Hawkesmoor, he who had learned his trade from Christopher Wren, which helps to understand the existence of the central dome, the first to be installed in an English  home. Vanbrugh managed to score this project because he was a pal of Charles Howard, the 3^rd Earl of Carlisle. The land had come into the Howard family in 1566 through the marriage of Thomas, 4^th Duke of Norfolk to Elizabeth Leyburne, widow of Thomas, 4^th Baron Dacre. Like so many wealthy families of past eras, the Howards made some canny marriages.

Construction of the house was not completed until after the 3^rd Earl had died, as had Vanbrugh. The 4^th Earl instructed his architect brother-in-law, Sir Thomas Robinson to complete the second wing. This was a matter of great divisiveness but the building was completed in the end.

Looking down into the Central Hall

The earls resided here from time to time over the centuries, this only one of their homes, Naworth Castle in Cumbria another. In 1952 the house was opened to the public by the then owner, George Howard, Baron Howard of Henderskelfe. Today it is owned by the Castle Howard Estate Limited and run by Nicholas and Victoria Howard. 

The gardens which seem to be so natural,  suggesting the hand of Capability Brown, preceded that man’s interference; credit can be given entirely to the 3^rd Earl for the landscape.

During the Second World War, the house was occupied by the relocated St Margaret’s School pupils and during their tenure, a large part of the house was destroyed by a fire which broke out in November 1940. The dome, the central hall and the state rooms on the east side were entirely destroyed. Fabulous ceiling paintings and other artworks were lost, and restoration has been going on ever since.

In 1981 the castle was the location of the television series based on Evelyn Waugh’s “Brideshead Revisited” and then again when the film version was made in 2008. It has also featured in a number of other films and features including one I do remember well; Stanley Kubrick’s 1975 film “Barry Lyndon” which had the most amazing sound track.

The day had remained beautifully clear and warmed up as per forecast. The news this evening has reported record September temperatures for the day, and we were certainly appreciative. After ice-creams and catching up with a couple we had met whilst doing the tours earlier in the day, Tasmanian Poms enjoying an annual trip “back home”, we headed off through the back roads toward home, returning through Sherriff Hutton, then on through Farrington, Stillington, Huby, squeezing past the many hay hefting tractors making the most of the dry weather, arriving home without further event.