Homely, seemed like you were part of the family. Grounds were well kept and looked good. A privilege to visit. Thank you.
Went here for the food fayre. As we had to pay to get in anyway we made a day of it. The gardens were well maintained and the parkland dotted with very tame deer. We looked around the castle when it opened after lunch.The guides were knowledgeable and friendly and the rooms well presented. The cafe and gift shop were good and not too expensive by comparison with similar places. The playground was well maintained too. Can`t really fault it and we enjoyed the day but I can`t help feeling it was a little expensive. Perhaps though that was because I had to pay to get to the fayre.
Raby Castle is a very nice, beautiful old building. The inside, even though its old is warm and clean. The grounds are kept pristine too- the deer don't leave poo everywhere and the grass is not too long!We often visit for car rallies and enjoy walking around the grounds as a break.overall i would definitely return!
We visited in summer and I recommend spring/summer because the gardens are among the best, and there is no better time to see gardens than when everything is in flower and the butterflies are around. The hedges are amazing: flowing like big green folded blankets tumbled off a shelf. There are very well kept old carriages in the stables. See my photos for views of the castle
Castle and grounds are well kept. They look lovely. all of the guides were friendly. Except for one! The castle guide lady with the mousy hair in the castle kitchen made us feel very unwelcome! We felt we were trespassing :(
The grounds of Raby Castle are beautiful, it's just a shame the grotto cannot be held there, the walk through the enchanted forest on the way to the grotto looks nice. Only a bit more snow could probably improve it.The real draw though is Santa himself, he is fantastic and has a chat to the kids like he actually knows them. The gift is good too and the elves are typically very happy and full of smiles. I can imagine how hard this job could be at times and they cannot be too nice, so pleasant.I would recommend the grotto to anyone with small children but make sure you wrap up warm as the queue can be long and cold
Passed by Raby Castle whilst staying in County Durham, looks a very impressive building with lots of deer running free. The gates were open so were able to drive in to a point and would love to re-visit when it opens in April. It was a wonderful sight to see the deer.
We visited Raby Castle yesterday after searching for somewhere to visit to escape the fog in Whitby. The castle itself is a stunning building, a sort of combination of castle and historic house. The grounds and gardens add to the attraction, as does the coach-house with it's display of horse drawn carriages. An added bonus is that you can get relatively close to the Deers that roam the grounds.However, there were two things that spoiled it for us and stopped us giving it 5 stars. Firstly the tea-room is quite drab looking, and it really smells of cooking; the sort of greasy smell that lingers on your clothing all day. And secondly, at this time of the week/year you go around the house as part of a guided tour. But, this means that you don't get the time that you would like to look at what you want to look at, and often due to the group size the tour-guide is telling you about the room that you are still stood outside as you're at the back of the group. I imagine that it's much more enjoyable when you can roam free around the house.That said, definitely worth a visit.
We visited Raby Castle a couple of weeks ago to see Father Christmas. I left it a bit late to book so 3pm on a Sunday was the only slot left. We got there a bit early and there was a small Christmas market (this shut fairly early though, as it started to get dark, so don't rely on visiting after your visit to FC). We had a nice mooch round. The produce on offer was of a good standard - artisan bread etc. The grotto, in a barn, was nicely done with little light etc displays on the way to Santa's shed. We didn't have to wait too long and the children (twin 7 year old boys) got a good length of time with the big guy, who took a real interest in them, and a fun gift. They said they really enjoyed it and that will do for me! The Christmas shop was also good.
It was an enjoyable day spent in the summer but I was expecting that little bit more. I've wanted to go for a few years now and when we finally decided to go, I felt let down. I thought it was a bit overpriced for what you did see, all in all I was some what disappointed. However it is a amazing building.