Not much grandeur on display here was there? Baulking at the entry price it was either here or the Castleton caverns on a rainy day, but as it happens this was worth the £25.85 entry fee (that’s select the “without £2.15 donation”). This rises to £40 (2026 prices) in peak season, but best to appreciate the place when the weather is good enough to wander around the grounds, so wait for sunshine before you go.
You have to feel sorry for the guide who has to say “have you seen the violin” probably 45 times every hour to the gawping tourists from every nation.
Outside of the spendour of the rooms, there are only so many walls of portraits you can tolerate, the Rock Garden and the Grotto were highlights, but the walk to the Hunting Lodge not in the end worth the effort. It’s also worth timing your visit to when they have exhibitions, we’d just missed one on literature with Byron first editions and the like to be seen. They were no doubt getting ready for Christmas and will be decorating rooms to suit.
