Raby Castle in County Durham is one of the finest castles in England and deserves to be on every visitor’s list of places to visit in the region. To help inspire you and plan your visit, I’ve pulled together a comprehensive guide to visiting Raby Castle.
Situated in the rolling green hills of County Durham, on the edge of the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Raby Castle and its surrounding parkland and gardens is one of England’s finest Medieval castles. I am lucky enough to live less than a 30 minute drive away and regularly visit with my family and little dog. It’s one of those places that never ceases to amaze me and now it’s time to share my experiences and photographs with you to inspire you to visit.
I’ve written about Raby Castle before as well as the incredible Plotters’ Forest adventure playground but I feel it’s now time to pull everything together into one comprehensive guide. There has never been a better time than now to visit Raby Castle either thanks to the long-anticipated completion of the Rising Development with the restored walled garden, Vinery Cafe, and Coach House shop. Whether you were thinking about visiting or not, this guide will (hopefully) persuade you that you need to book your tickets as soon as possible!
RABY CASTLE
RABY CASTLE
The North East of England is not short of castles but here in County Durham is perhaps one of the most impressive. The Raby Castle that you see today was built way back in the 14th century by the Neville family though there are remains of the original castle dating back to the 11th century. Raby Castle was an important stronghold throughout history – Cecil Neville was the Mother of two Kings of England and the Rising of the North was organised from within.
Sir Henry Vane the Elder purchased Raby Castle in 1626 and the Vane Family still own the estate to this day.
Visitors to the castle can enjoy walking through some beautiful historic rooms that make up this family home. The condition of each of these rooms on show is perfect too; you will feel as though you are literally travelling back in time. My favourite of the rooms are the Octagon Drawing Room with its intricate gold leaf ceiling and the Baron’s Hall. You’ll also find a Chapel, a grand Entrance Hall, a restored kitchen and many other interesting areas most of which will be explained in detail by a member of staff.
The Deer Park
The castle grounds extend to some 200 acres with plenty of walking routes across the parkland. The grounds are home to two species of deer; you’ll find both the Red Deer and Fallow Deer here. Dogs are allowed within the parkland though, for obvious reasons, must be kept on a lead. We love bringing Chester along for a circular walk around the castle. When Evelyn gets a little bigger, we plan on completing some of the longer walks!
THE RISING
The Rising at Raby Castle is the one thing that I have been most looking forward to over the last couple of years. This re-development has been huge for the estate and I’m pleased to say that the wait has been more than worth it. What you will now find is a brand new area from which to enjoy your visit to Raby Castle featuring the Walled Gardens, The Vinery Cafe, The Coach House Shop and other lovingly restored buildings. What’s even better is that you can visit the cafe and the shop with no ticket required – the gardens in this part are beautiful with the grassed area resembling an amphitheatre making it the perfect place to relax on a summer’s day.
First to discuss is The Vinery Cafe housed in a stunning historic glasshouse once home to grapevines. The food on offer here utilises ingredients from the estate or as local as possible and is of such a higher quality that you’d ordinarily expect from a cafe. There are homemade artisan sandwiches, freshly made pastries and cakes as well as seasonal dishes made within the kitchen.
We were only looking for a quick bite to eat, after the busy lunchtime rush, so settled on the mature cheddar, ripe vine tomatoes, garden leaves, red onion and caramelised onion chutney sandwich which was honestly really good. You don’t mind paying a little bit extra (yes £5.40 for a sandwich) when you know it is of high quality. We also had an absolutely huge slab of cake which Evelyn loved and I enjoyed the coffee too. Given that you can visit without a ticket to Raby Castle, I can really see the cafe taking off for family lunches and get togethers. I can’t imagine many cafes in the North-East that look this good and have stunning views across to the castle.
The Walled Gardens are another great re-addition to the experience at Raby Castle. Dating back to the 18th century, the gardens have been remodelled and restored to create something stunning. I’m not by any stretch of the imagination that knowledgeable about gardens or gardening but I can appreciate and enjoy them. The iconic White Ischia Fig Tree remains, having been brought to the estate back in 1786, and you’ll find natural mazes, roses, Victorian greenhouses and more as you wander through 5 acres of horticulture heaven. By the end of our walk through the gardens, I was already taking inspiration and planning the design when we re-do our front garden.
Finally, The Coach House Shop is the place to come for a little bit of retail therapy. You’ll find a selection of high quality homeware from brands such as Nkuku, artisan gifts, books, children’s toys and even fresh meat from the estate. Honestly, the homeware on offer here is stunning and, if I could afford it, I would pick up every piece as you guarantee it would elevate your home to another level. Again, the shop here is one that you could and should visit irrespective of whether you plan to visit the castle or not; it’s that good and completely unique 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 weaved into our own family traditions. Christmas in 2023 featured a trip with Evelyn, almost two at the time, to Raby Castle for the lovely Fireside Stories with Father Christmas. We’d heard great things about the stories and thankfully we did not leave disappointed; I’m not sure there is any better way than to get into the Christmas spirit for those that have children.
Within the Entrance Hall of Raby Castle, whilst the fireplace roars and crackles, you sit and listen Father Christmas read stories to the Children before calling each and every child up to pass them a present. We’ve already booked for 2024 and will no doubt book each and every year moving forward. We’ve already tested our quite a few different Father Christmases (Alnwick Gardens, Whitehouse Farm & Center Parcs) and the one at Raby Castle was by far the best (though I know there are different Father Christmases at Raby Castle, we were lucky and managed to see perhaps the most ‘realistic’).
THE PLOTTERS’ FOREST
Now it’s playtime! Nestled within a Christmas tree plantation is a wooden playground that needs to be seen to be believed; it’s practically straight out of your dreams. There’s treetop tunnels, walkways, climbing walls and a huge slide that will keep the little ones and adults occupied for a good few hours. Across the year you’ll find little ‘treasure hunts’ put on for the Children where you can follow the walkway and keep your eyes peeled to complete the challenge. For example, we visited during an Alice in Wonderland themed even with hidden characters to find throughout the Plotters’ Forest.
For a more in-depth look at this exceptional adventure playground (perhaps a little expensive unless you’re a member), head straight to my post here.
HOW TO GET TO RABY CASTLE
Raby Castle is situated just outside of the small village of Staindrop along the side of the A688 that runs between Bishop Auckland and Barnard Castle. From the city of Durham, it’s around 18 miles to the south west and would take around 30 minutes to drive there. From Darlington, it’s around 12 miles to the north west and a 20 minute drive. The postcode for directions is DL2 3AH.
Public transport to Raby Castle isn’t the best though you can get an almost direct bus from Darlington to Staindrop (X75 MAX) or two buses from Durham though it takes around 90 minutes.
OPENING TIMES & PRICES
Everything at Raby Castle, with the exception of the castle itself, is open daily from 10am to 4pm. The castle is closed on Mondays but, other than that, is also open from 10am to 4pm between March and October.
In terms of prices, expect to pay £18 for adults, £17 for concessions (60+) and £7.50 for children between the ages of 4 and 15 for access to Raby Castle, Deer Park and Gardens. You can get a small discount if you book in advance on the website. There is also a two day Raby Explorer pass valid for two consecutive days which works out cheaper too if you’re in the area for more than one day.
Tickets to the Plotters’ Forest are purchased separately and are £12 for adults, £11 for concessions and £7.50 for children between the ages of 4 and 15. Thankfully, children under 4 are free.
Given the prices above, if you’re local, I think it makes perfect sense to become a Raby Member which grants access to the Castle, Plotter’s Forest, High Force Waterfall, 10% discount at the Vinery 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). You only really need to visit the castle and Plotters’ Forest in one day for the membership to have nearly covered the outlay; £30 for an adult as opposed to £40 for the whole year!
Hopefully that covers everything you need to know about Raby Castle and I’m sure you’ll have seen enough to start thinking about planning your own trip to this area of North East England. If you have any questions at all or would like some more information, please feel free to leave a comment below.
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