Grimsthorpe Castle

Hooray for the weekends and being able to have Dad come along on our outings!  This weekend we explored another nearby treasure - Grimsthorpe Castle.

The Castle is the centrepiece of this magnificent 3000-acre estate. Each section has a different appearance, reflecting the different architectural styles that have been employed here since building began in the 13th century.

Inside is a unique collection of paintings, furniture, tapestries as well as thrones and furnishings from the House of Lords.  Grimsthorpe's interesting historical connection is that the owning family, the Willoughby de Eresby's, have the hereditary Office as Lord Great Chamberlains to the Palace of Westminster.  This means that traditionally, it was the responsibility of this family to provide events for the House of Lords in Parliament, including the financing of these events - clothing for the monarchs, etc.  Thus, there are many artifacts from House of Lords that are now displayed here at Grimsthorpe.

Unfortunately, we were not permitted to take photographs inside the castle, but we did enjoy capturing images of the magnificent gardens.  In fact, we got a lot of good ideas for our own estate back in the Americas (someday...)

Raspberry bushes.

Hedge-bordered rose and lavender gardens.

A side view of the castle:

One of Grimsthorpe's most unique features is its "Kitchen Gardens":

Giant artichokes.

Even lettuce looks beautiful in this garden.

Bumblebees busy at work.

Amazing how they prune these fruit trees!

Before long the girls forgot that we were walking through the "boring gardens" and became very involved in identifying the fruits and vegetables, as well as catching butterflies.

 

The back of the castle and the topiary gardens:

And finally, we stopped in to meet some of the deer from the Estate before expending all our remaining energy at the Adventure Playground on-site.