raby castle

I have visited ruby castle quite a few times, it's a sort of local attraction. Mainly I have gone for attractions and weekend events in the deer park surrounding the castle.The castle from the road and park is very impressive. The castle is still owned by the family, this is not an English heritage or national trust property. I only visit the castle now when people visit me, they seem to want to go and look around the local sites and this is where the problems start. The castle never seems to be open. Yes the gates are always open but the castle itself is still lived in and is not open often. In addition I always feel unwanted here. On the odd occasion I have spoken to someone in the castle a rather posh elderly lady asked me my job , although quite what that had to do with entry to the castle I don't know but I sort of got the impression I was riffraff. There is a scheme where old castles are opened to the public in order to get government funding to redo the roofs etc and I can't help but think this smacks of well we have to let the riffraff in but we don't want to. As I say I don't know that applies here but certainly I always feel an intruder here, not wanted, it doesn't feel homely or welcoming rather we will take your money but hurry up and go! I have pretty much given up on the place now and my last visit will probably not be repeated unless (hopefully) it was to be taken over by English heritage. My advice is to admire the castle as you drive past and go and see properties owned by English heritage or national trust.

Passed by Raby Castle whilst staying in County Durham, looks a very impressive building with lots of deer running free. The gates were open so were able to drive in to a point and would love to re-visit when it opens in April. It was a wonderful sight to see the deer.

It was an enjoyable day spent in the summer but I was expecting that little bit more. I've wanted to go for a few years now and when we finally decided to go, I felt let down. I thought it was a bit overpriced for what you did see, all in all I was some what disappointed. However it is a amazing building.

Castle and grounds are well kept. They look lovely. all of the guides were friendly. Except for one! The castle guide lady with the mousy hair in the castle kitchen made us feel very unwelcome! We felt we were trespassing :(

We visited in summer and I recommend spring/summer because the gardens are among the best, and there is no better time to see gardens than when everything is in flower and the butterflies are around. The hedges are amazing: flowing like big green folded blankets tumbled off a shelf. There are very well kept old carriages in the stables. See my photos for views of the castle

Raby Castle is a very nice, beautiful old building. The inside, even though its old is warm and clean. The grounds are kept pristine too- the deer don't leave poo everywhere and the grass is not too long!We often visit for car rallies and enjoy walking around the grounds as a break.overall i would definitely return!

The grounds of Raby Castle are beautiful, it's just a shame the grotto cannot be held there, the walk through the enchanted forest on the way to the grotto looks nice. Only a bit more snow could probably improve it.The real draw though is Santa himself, he is fantastic and has a chat to the kids like he actually knows them. The gift is good too and the elves are typically very happy and full of smiles. I can imagine how hard this job could be at times and they cannot be too nice, so pleasant.I would recommend the grotto to anyone with small children but make sure you wrap up warm as the queue can be long and cold

We visited Raby Castle a couple of weeks ago to see Father Christmas. I left it a bit late to book so 3pm on a Sunday was the only slot left. We got there a bit early and there was a small Christmas market (this shut fairly early though, as it started to get dark, so don't rely on visiting after your visit to FC). We had a nice mooch round. The produce on offer was of a good standard - artisan bread etc. The grotto, in a barn, was nicely done with little light etc displays on the way to Santa's shed. We didn't have to wait too long and the children (twin 7 year old boys) got a good length of time with the big guy, who took a real interest in them, and a fun gift. They said they really enjoyed it and that will do for me! The Christmas shop was also good.

Rant castle is just lovely. The deer which live in the grounds and the magnificence of the castle itself make you feel that you've stepped back in time. We come every Christmas for our tree and have a drink in the tea shop. In winter or summer the castle and grounds offer such an English charm it is worth a walk around.

Traveling around the countryside with friends we all had picks as to what we wanted to see. Raby Castle was one of my picks. We visited in May and the grounds were lovely with the horse chestnut trees were in bloom. The castle's exterior was very photogenic. And the interior was majestic but also quite homey. At the time we went we were limited as to where we could spend the night in Staindrop which made our stop in town even more of an adventure.

Went here for the food fayre. As we had to pay to get in anyway we made a day of it. The gardens were well maintained and the parkland dotted with very tame deer. We looked around the castle when it opened after lunch.The guides were knowledgeable and friendly and the rooms well presented. The cafe and gift shop were good and not too expensive by comparison with similar places. The playground was well maintained too. Can`t really fault it and we enjoyed the day but I can`t help feeling it was a little expensive. Perhaps though that was because I had to pay to get to the fayre.

We arrived at 10.50am, but the grounds didn't open until 11am, and the castle 1pm. This gave us ample time to wall around the lakes, explore the deerpark, coach house and walled gardens. Although it was September and the flowers were past their best, it was still well worth visiting them. It was very peaceful in the park and we were able to get close to the herds of red and fallow deer. After a light lunch in the converted stables tearoom, (a bit expensive) we went to the castle for a guided tour. The lady guide was marvellous, an excellent speaker, she made the tour so interesting. We found out about the fascinating history of the castle, its inhabitants and its artefacts. The tour was about an hour and a half.

This is a great castle to visit with plenty to. The castle itself is worth taking your time going around and there is plenty of rooms with many objects to view, the guides are helpful and informative. Then there is the castle grounds with the deer freely roaming and the beautiful gardens to wonder around. There is also and adventure play area near the car park for kids to play in.

Homely, seemed like you were part of the family. Grounds were well kept and looked good. A privilege to visit. Thank you.

We visited Raby Castle yesterday after searching for somewhere to visit to escape the fog in Whitby. The castle itself is a stunning building, a sort of combination of castle and historic house. The grounds and gardens add to the attraction, as does the coach-house with it's display of horse drawn carriages. An added bonus is that you can get relatively close to the Deers that roam the grounds.However, there were two things that spoiled it for us and stopped us giving it 5 stars. Firstly the tea-room is quite drab looking, and it really smells of cooking; the sort of greasy smell that lingers on your clothing all day. And secondly, at this time of the week/year you go around the house as part of a guided tour. But, this means that you don't get the time that you would like to look at what you want to look at, and often due to the group size the tour-guide is telling you about the room that you are still stood outside as you're at the back of the group. I imagine that it's much more enjoyable when you can roam free around the house.That said, definitely worth a visit.