As I mentioned in my last post, instead of travelling to far-away places I’ll be keeping things local and will be exploring much closer to home. For the time being at least. This doesn’t mean that there won’t be a few trips with flights above six hours coming up but it’s definitely time to check out what’s on my doorstep. Far too often we forget and certainly take for granted what we already have. So, taking this into account, I recently drove just 15 minutes from my new front door (yes, I’ve just bought a house!) to visit Raby Castle in County Durham.
If you’re not familiar with the area, County Durham is in the North East of England. Whilst Northumberland probably steals the headline with it’s huge number of castles, County Durham has some fine offerings too. Raby Castle was built in the 14th century by the Nevill’s; one of the most powerful families in the North of England. The others being the Percy Family who own Alnwick Castle. Cecil Nevill who lived at Raby Castle was the mother of no less than two Kings of England. The current owners, the Vane Family, purchased Raby Castle from the Crown in the 1600’s! Talk about keeping it in the family.
Given this history, and the fact that it looked absolutely pristine from the behind the wheel as I passed on many drives over the North Pennines, it was one place that’s been high on my list to visit for a while now. Disappointingly, the weather did not play ball and it rained all day. We weren’t able to completely enjoy the sprawling grounds with it’s large herd of red deer and walled gardens. However, we bought an annual ticket meaning that we can return on those hot summer days for a walk around the lakes. Maybe even a picnic and maybe even an ice-cold beer.
You’ll see from the photos that this is a beautiful castle in absolute pristine condition. Once you get inside on a trail through Raby Castle, you won’t believe your eyes. Every room that we passed through, had some bigger, better and more intricate than the last. The detailed gold-leaf ceiling in the Octagon Room was one of my highlights as well as the Entrance Hall and the Baron’s Hall. I can’t even imagine living in a place like this! For a couple of hours at least you can wander this majestic castle with very informative staff placed at convenient locations ready to tell you everything you could possibly need to know about the castle.
After a walk through the castle, there was just one thing left to do. Grab a few photos of the famous red deer. They’re pretty easy to spot though you’re not going to get too close. I tried to get as close as I could before the entire herd turned their back on me and toddled off.
I loved visiting Raby Castle and I’m glad they offer an annual pass. For the photographer in me it means I can visit in different seasons with different light to capture all sorts of scenes! If you’re interested, these pictures were captured using my JPEG settings; Classic Chrome and Acros.
Key Details
Raby Castle is 18 miles south-east of Durham just off the A688.
£22 for an annual ticket. £12 for a castle, park and gardens ticket. Just £7 for a park and gardens ticket.
The castle opens at 11am and closes 4:30pm. It’s open on weekends in March, Wednesday to Sunday in April, May, June and September. In July and August, the castle is open Tuesday to Sunday.
More Photos of Raby Castle
If you enjoyed ‘An Afternoon at Raby Castle’ why not pin the image below?
I just love castles and old houses and it’s especially nice when you can go inside and see how it was. You don’t see much of this in Australia! Looking forward to seeing more old castles and houses from you and reading about the history.
Me too!! Thank you I’ll be going up to Northumberland soon which has so many historic castles!
I’m also guilty of ignoring my own doorstep – I’m only a few hours from the Isles of Skye and Harris but I’ve never been. It’s easy to put if off like “meh, I’ll go next year”
It’s been a long time since I visited Raby Castle. I remember the deer in the fields but not so much about the interior of the castle.
Ah I’d absolutely love to go to the Isles of Skye – I’m trying to plan a road trip up to Scotland maybe later in the year!
With a relatively short history as nation in the U.S., it always amazes me to find a place or business in Europe that has been in the same family for hundreds of years. We hope to get back to England for a drive around the northern part next year.
I always forget that side of it! We are so used to seeing things like this that we really take it for granted. The north of England is lovely and Northumberland is absolutely full of historic castles!
Amazing Jamie. Any day spent in a castle definitely works for me. Epic.
Thanks!! Ha definitely! Now just need to find more…
Stunning photos as ever! I can’t say it’s a castle I’m familiar with but looks worth a visit at some point. Convenient for you that it’s so close to home and you can return at no extra cost 🙂
Ah thank you Jason! Also thanks for commenting as always! It’s a brilliant castle and the fee includes access to a lovely waterfall too!