Christmas proves to be a cracker at Castle Howard

A gingerbread house, over a dozen trees and thousands of baubles have proved a winning formula for Castle Howard this year, which is celebrating its busiest ever Christmas season, having welcomed over 49,000 visitors over the five weeks of its festive opening.

“We are absolutely delighted by the number of people who have come to share Castle Howard as part of their Christmas preparations.  There has been a real buzz about the house over the last five weeks – I can’t begin to guess at how many gasps of surprise and amazement we’ll have heard from visitors looking around,” comments Nicholas Howard.

A hat-trick of new developments – including the creation of a gingerbread model of the house and monuments, an exclusive afternoon tea experience in the elegant Grecian Hall, and use of estate foliage, branches and berries to bring the outside in – have proved particularly popular additions to this year’s event.

The record figures are over 45% higher than in 2015, which was the most successful year previously.  The afternoon tea – created by new chef David Haynes, a former development chef for Betty’s – and the family-favourite audience with Father Christmas all having sold out well before the doors opened for the Christmas season.

“We are absolutely thrilled with the gingerbread model created by Bompas & Parr, which has been on display in the High South, and is a show-stopping confection on a grand scale.  The special architectural gingerbread used actually hardens in the air, so we’ll be finding a dry place to store it, and hope that it will return to the displays in future years,” says Nicholas Howard.  “Special thanks also have to go to Kelly Smith, our Retail Manager, who has masterminded possibly our best ever Christmas decorations, along with our Head of Gardens, Adele Hirst, who has created the most beautiful foliage displays.”

Whilst the house itself closes on Friday 23 December, the grounds remain open every day except Christmas Day for visitors to explore.  The car park also remains open for those looking for winter walks around the Howardian Hills, with the coffee shop and toilet facilities open from Boxing Day.

For more information, please visit www.castlehoward.co.uk 

ENDS