Visit Castle Howard and make special summer memories with our beautiful architecture, rich history, and stunning landscapes as your backdrop. This summer is the perfect time to visit the House, Gardens, and award-winning Skelf Island Adventure Playground.
History and art
Step into the 300-year-old Howard family home and be immersed in history and beauty. Take in the showstopping Great Hall, sweeping Long Gallery, and sublime arts and crafts Chapel. Visitors can book a guided tour, or use the digital guide, narrated by Nick Howard, to discover Castle Howard’s stories. See the moving People We Love contemporary art installation in our Chapel.
Family adventures
Skelf Island, Castle Howard’s legendary Adventure Playground, is named after the historic site Castle Howard sits on, Henderskelfe. Set on an island and reachable by a rope bridge, the Playground is a web of ingenious treetop nests in the woodland canopy connected by slides, nets, and climbing equipment.
Glorious green space
The Gardens are a spectacle in the summer, from the lakes home to Yorkshire wildlife, to the Walled Garden and Ray Wood. The Walled Garden is a beautiful place to stroll; laid out in the early 18th century as kitchen garden, today part of the garden is still given over to vegetables, but the remainder of the area has been transformed into a garden of roses. An enchanting woodland garden, Ray Wood holds an impressive collection of plants from around the globe, including nearly 800 species of Rhododendron.
