A Day Out at Belvoir Castle

[Ad- gifted experience] Dann is a massive fan of historical sites and of castles, so when we went out to the Engine Yard, to explore their new buildings shops and area, we then hopped over to Belvoir Castle – just across the road – to have a look at the grounds and inside. This castle was up a hill – a little walk from the car park, so we made our way there after lunch, excited to take a look at the grounds and then inside castle. What we didn’t realize was just how large the grounds themselves are.

Belvoir Castle has five different gardens around it – which range from forest-like gardens with lakes to beautifully manicured flower gardens, with perfect hedges to sit in and hang out at. They are all really beautiful, despite being so different. Exploring around, we took a look at all the different statues, flowers, and fountains – which made for a really relaxing walk, especially in the summertime or when the weather is good. These gardens actually aren’t ticketed, so you do not need a ticket to explore around! We spent more than an hour just walking around, taking everything in, before we went through to the castle itself.

Belvoir Castle is an active building, which means that if you look down some of the roped off places, you will find active items that show someone is currently living there. It’s like being inside a museum but also inside someone’s house – which is very interesting. Some of the rooms seemed to be more aware of that than others – you could peak into bedrooms that had discarded cups on the side table or go into a massive living room that had modern pictures of people, hanging out together. Though some of these same pictures could also be found in other parts of the house, if you kept your eye out on it.

Dotted around the castle, you can find plaques that tell you a little bit more about specific areas, as well as volunteers, who know everything and anything. These people have this knowledge just at hand, and are prepared to tell you all about the giant room of paintings which included paintings loaned to museums in London or about the family who lives in this castle, or just about when the castle was made or when it was re-made with slightly different arci texture and why. Their knowledge and willingness to speak to us was very lovely – it’s like having a tour guide at points, who have all sorts of key details like the fact that some of the beds were so high up because they were made for kings. And people who tended to the king’s bedside should not look down on the king, so the bed was made up high so that they physically could not. There was a pair of attached chairs that were built for better conversation and a giant painting that had loads of different hidden messages – with a board to help you find them all next to it.

As you would imagine, Belvoir Castle is a really beautiful place, dripping with so much history and so many important items, that it’s just a joy to walk around. The castle is just so huge, with so many details and things to see – there is even a church hidden within it, so that the staff or family there could attend church without even leaving home. When we went, there was also little Christmas decorations dotted around – which we are assuming is a timed thing to Christmas, but I am sure it’s immaculately decorated whatever time of year it is.

We ended up only having a few hours at Belvoir Castle, and could have spent much longer there if I am honest, as it’s just a huge active castle with so much to see and so many rooms to explore. Following around the castle was simple in itself and it is well worth exploring, especially if you are a fan of history.

You can check out our other Days Out to see what else we’ve been up too!