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Raby Castle in Durham County is one of England’s best castles and deserves to be on the list of visitors to visit in the region. To help you inspire and plan your visit, I have gathered a complete guide to visit Raby Castle.
Located in the green hills of Durham County, on the edge of the North Pennines area of exceptional natural beauty, Raby Castle and its surrounding parks and gardens is one of the best medieval castles in England. I am lucky to live less than 30 minutes by car and visit regularly with my family and my puppy. It is one of those places that never ceases to surprise me and now is the time to share my experiences and photographs with you to inspire you to visit.
I have written about Raby Castle before, as well as the incredible Forest Adventure adventure park, but I feel that now is the time to join everything in a complete guide. There has never been a better time to visit Raby Castle, either thanks to the expected termination of promotion development with the restored walled garden, Vannery Cafe and Coach House Shop. Whether I was thinking of visiting or not, this guide (hopefully) will persuade him that he needs to reserve his tickets as soon as possible!
Raby Castle
Raby Castle
The northeast of England does not have the other castles, but here in Durham County it is perhaps one of the most impressive. Raby Castle that you see today was built in the fourteenth century by the Neville family, although there are remains of the original castle dating from the eleventh century. Raby Castle was an important strength throughout history: Cecil Neville was the mother of two kings of England and the northern increase was organized from the inside.
Sir Henry Vane, the old man, bought Raby Castle in 1626 and the Vane family still has the farm until today.
Castle visitors can enjoy walking through some beautiful historical rooms that make up this family home. The condition of each of these rooms on display is also perfect; He will feel that he is literally traveling over time. My room favorite is the Octagon’s drawing room with its intricate gold leaf roof and the Baron room. You will also find a chapel, a large entrance room, a restored kitchen and many other interesting areas, most of which will be explained in detail by a staff member.
The deer park
The castle land extends to about 200 acres with many walking routes in the park. The land houses two species of deer; You will find both the red deer and the deer in fallow here. However, dogs are allowed inside the park, for obvious reasons, they must be kept in the lead. We love bringing Chester for a circular walk around the castle. When Evelyn becomes a little bigger, we plan to complete some of the longest walks!
The ascent
Rising in Raby Castle is the only thing I have been waiting for most in recent years. This development has been enormous for the farm and I am pleased to say that the wait has been worth it. What you will now find is a new area to enjoy your visit to Raby Castle with the walled gardens, Vannery Cafe, Coach House Shop and other buildings restored with love. What is even better is that you can visit the coffee and the store without a ticket that is required: the gardens in this part are beautiful with the grass area that resembles an amphitheater that makes it the perfect place to relax on a summer day.
First to discuss is Vannery coffee Located in an impressive historical greenhouse once vines home. The food offered here uses ingredients of the farm or as local as possible and is of such a high quality that it would normally expect from a coffee. There are homemade artisanal sandwiches, cakes and freshly made cakes, as well as seasonal dishes made inside the kitchen.
We were just looking for a quick bite to eat, after the busy at lunchtime, so we decided on the Maduro Cheddar, the mature vine tomatoes, the garden leaves, the red onion and the chutney sandwich of caramelized chutney that honestly was really good. He does not care to pay a little more (yes £ 5.40 for a sandwich) when he knows it is of high quality. We also had an absolutely huge cake slab that Evelyn loved and I also enjoyed coffee. Since you can visit without a ticket for Raby Castle, I can really see that coffee will take off for family lunches and get goals. I cannot imagine many coffees in the northeast that they look so good and have impressive views of the castle.
The walled gardens They are another great return of the experience in Raby Castle. Returning to the 18th century, the gardens have been remodeled and restored to create something impressive. I am not in any section of the imagination that knows the gardens or gardening, but I can appreciate and enjoy them. The iconic fig tree of the white ischy remains, after having been brought to the farm in 1786, and will find natural labyrinths, roses, Victorian greenhouses and more while wandering through 5 acres of horticulture sky. At the end of our walk through the gardens, I was already inspiring and planning the design when we make our front garden again.
Finally, The Casa de Coach store It is the place to come for a little retail therapy. You will find a selection of high quality home articles of brands such as NKUKU, handmade gifts, books, children’s toys and even fresh meat from the farm. Honestly, the homeware offered here is impressive and, if you could pay it, collect each piece by guaranteeing that it would raise your home to another level. Once again, the store here is one that could and should visit independently of whether you plan to visit the castle or not; It is so good and completely exclusive to the area.
Raby Castle at Christmas
This is where things really get magical. Raby Castle at Christmas is so special and something that is now being woven in our own family traditions. Christmas in 2023 presented a trip with Evelyn, almost two at that time, Raby Castle for the charming Stories by the fire with Santa Claus. We had heard great things about the stories and fortunately we did not let ourselves be disappointed; I am not sure that there is a better way than to enter the Christmas spirit for those who have children.
Inside the entrance hall of Raby Castle, while the fireplace roars and crepita, you feel and listen to Santa Claus Read stories to the children before calling each and every one of the children to spend a gift. We have already reserved for 2024 and we will undoubtedly reserve every year in the future. We have already tried our many different dads (Alnwick Gardens, Whitehouse Farm & Center Parcs) and that of Raby Castle was, with much, the best (although I know there are different Nael Christmas in Raby Castle, we had luck and we managed to see perhaps the most “realistic”).
The Forest of the conspirators
Now it’s play time! Located inside a Christmas tree plantation there is a wooden patio that must be seen to believe; It is practically direct from your dreams. There are tree tunnels, catwalks, climbing walls and a huge slide that will keep the little ones and adults occupied for a few hours. Throughout the year, you will find small ‘treasures’ hunts’ for children where you can follow the catwalk and keep your eyes wide open to complete the challenge. For example, we visited Alicia in Wonderland even with hidden characters to find in the entire conspiratory forest.
For a deeper look at this exceptional adventure park (perhaps a bit expensive unless I am a member), go directly to my publication here.
How to get to Raby Castle
Raby Castle is located outside the small town of Staindrop along the side of the A688 that runs between Bishop Auckland and Barnard Castle. From the city of Durham, he is about 18 miles to the southwest and would take about 30 minutes to drive there. From Darlington, it is about 12 miles to the northwest and 20 minutes by car. The postal code for addresses is DL2 3ah.
Public transport to Raby Castle is not the best, although you can get an almost direct bus from Darlington to Staindrop (X75 Max) or two Durham buses, although it has been about 90 minutes.
Opening and prices schedules
Everything in Raby Castle, with the exception of the castle itself, is open every day from 10 am to 4 pm The castle is closed on Mondays but, apart from that, it is also open from 10 am to 4 pm between March and October.
In terms of prices, wait for £ 18 for adults, £ 17 for concessions (60+) and £ 7.50 for children 4 and 15 years for access to Raby Castle, Deer Park and Gardens. You can get a small discount if you reserve in advance on the website. There is also a two -day pass of Raby Explorer for two consecutive days that also works cheaper if you are in the area for more than a day.
Tickets for the conspiratory forest are bought separately and cost £ 12 for adults, £ 11 for concessions and £ 7.50 for children between 4 and 15 years. Fortunately, children under 4 are free.
Given the previous prices, if you are a local, I think it makes a lot of sense to become a member of Raby who gives access to the castle, the conspiracy forest, a high strength waterfall, a 10% discount on Vannery Cafe, Coach House Shop and High Force Hotel. This costs £ 40 per year for an adult, £ 37 for concessions and £ 30 for children (4-15). It really only needs to visit the castle and the conspirators forest in a day so that the membership has almost covered the disbursement; £ 30 for an adult instead of £ 40 for the whole year!
Hopefully that covers everything you need to know about Raby Castle and I am sure you will have seen enough to start thinking about planning your own trip to this area of the northeast of England. If you have any questions or want more information, do not hesitate to leave a comment below.
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