Belvoir Castle, Leicestershire

~~ Belvoir Castle ~~

It was Saturday and the first full day of our holiday in Lincolnshire and after a very disappointing visit to Skegness we were in a quandary on what to do as it had already gone past lunch time. I was a little down hearted as it did not seem to be a good start to our holiday. In an attempt to cheer ourselves up we got the map book out as we had no tourist info with us in the car. We looked at the A52 which we were ...
...to visit; we spotted Belvoir Castle which was slightly off the A52, but what the hell it would cheer us up. So off we went.

We arrived there quite late in the afternoon around 3pm so we only had two hours to complete our visit before it closed. The car park is at the bottom of a very steep hill, so be prepared for a good walk up to the castle itself. If you are able bodied and walking up to the castle you will pass sign posts directing ... more

~~ Belvoir Castle ~~

It was Saturday and the first full day of our holiday in Lincolnshire and after a very disappointing visit to Skegness we were in a quandary on what to do as it had already gone past lunch time. I was a little down hearted as it did not seem to be a good start to our holiday. In an attempt to cheer ourselves up we got the map book out as we had no tourist info with us in the car. We looked at the A52 which we were on and followed it looking for a place of interest to visit; we spotted Belvoir Castle which was slightly off the A52, but what the hell it would cheer us up. So off we went.

We arrived there quite late in the afternoon around 3pm so we only had two hours to complete our visit before it closed. The car park is at the bottom of a very steep hill, so be prepared for a good walk up to the castle itself. If you are able bodied and walking up to the castle you will pass sign posts directing you to various gardens along the route, which you could divert to and then back track to the path. Being disabled we got a car pass and had to drive back along the main road for about 400yds to the main house gates. We were given a gate code to allow us entry and we could then park right next to the castle entrance.

Although disabled I am not in a wheelchair, if I had have been then admission to the castle would have been free as the only access would have been to the ground floor. Instead as I can get around although slowly so we paid the £10.00 each admission. (Although this is part of Hidden England Passport Scheme, it was the first one we had visited so we had to pay for each of us). We paid £2.00 for a sticker which allowed us to take photo's inside the castle, our guide book cost us approx £4.00 and then there was the £1.00 for parking, this was becoming fairly expensive for a couple of hours.

Our tour of Belvoir Castle is now on the way, Belvoir means beautiful view in French, and so it is rightly named as the views are spectacular. Also people pronounce it Bever Castle; from my research it was pronounced Bever because people had difficulty with the French pronunciation Belvoir. Anyway I digress back to our tour, we have no tour guide as we have missed the 12.30pm time slot for the organised tour. So off we go with my chief photographer (my hubby) snapping away. Our journey starts with the pre-guard room and the guardroom where there is a vast display of 19th Century muskets and Armour dating from the 18th Century. The Guardroom is Gothic in design and leads you to a lovely stone staircase that takes you up one side and down on to the other side of the room. You walk through a museum of the Queens Royal Lancers with displays and information dating back form 1759 right up to today's Royal Lancers in Iraq. I couldn't help thinking of our deceased fathers who both would have loved all the weaponry and military displays.

Apart from the beautiful rooms we get to see things like a really old invalid carriage and a Russian Sleigh that have been dotted around the building. It seems that every where you look there is an historical object, a piece of beauty to cast your eyes on.

One of the rooms you get to look at is the Elizabeth Saloon, which was probably named after Elizabeth the 5th Duchess of Rutland who commissioned Matthew Wyatt for the decoration and the beautiful paintings on the ceiling which are done in one large circular picture and semi circular ones around it, outstanding. The room itself is overpoweringly decorated in pink and gold, done in the style of Louis XIV.

In the picture gallery there is a magnificent portrait of Henry VIII, there is also a very strange picture conveying 43 rare and odd proverbs. Most of which I have never heard of, to help you understand the picture they have a list of all 43 proverbs and a map to direct you to the right proverb on the picture. You could quite easily spend a lot of time here just trying to work them all out, I took pictures and still look at it on my computer screen.

I remember thinking as you go round, when you see these beautiful very big four poster beds, how grand they look and how high they are, I would need a step ladder to get in and out of bed, I certainly would not want to fall out of bed either.

As you walk through the various rooms you get to see such wonderful period furniture and beautiful paintings, not forgetting Louis XIV & XV clocks that seem to be very popular in the stately homes of Lincolnshire.

The largest room you get to see is 131ft in length and is named the Regents Gallery named after the Prince Regent who visited the castle soon after the completion of the room. It is decorated heavily (as are most historical buildings) in Red and Gold, with heavy red drapes framing the long windows that bring you in plenty of light and lovely views. Gilded mirrors adding to the dimensions of the room strategically places between each of the 5-6 windows. The crowning glory of this room is the Louise XVI Gobelin tapestries they are exquisite and run along the length of the wall.

Like many homes of its time it has its own beautiful family chapel. There is also a lovely children's room full of old toys for modern children to look at and experience playing with them, including period costumes to dress up in. I adored this room it even had a really old rocking horse which most children of today will probably never get to experience the simple joys.

From here we popped down into the cellars and I was quite surprised how cold and damp they were especially considering we have just had a heat wave throughout the last month.

The very large kitchen is also down here, with an enormous range that they cooked on; my humble home is going to look small after this.

After a grand tour of the house David Bailey (hubby) and I are in need of a pit stop, so off to find the toilets, which are on the ground floor. We found these not to far from the castles restaurant. We really liked the way the estate had made them fun as well as functional, the outside panels were decorated like the Jesters Costumes in Orange and Yellow diamonds, the men's toilets were called Dukes and the ladies were called Duchesses. Inside the toilets was completely cream, they were very clean toilets, for a little while I was beginning to think I may get stuck in there as I could not find the door that takes you out, all the panels looked the same, so it was a case of aiming for where it could be and hope for the best, hooray I'm out, it was in the right hand corner past the sinks if you visit he, he.

Now I did mention it had a restaurant, we did not use the facilities it had to offer, but we could not resist a little peak. It was to be found next to the gift shop which of course is close to the exit. You can stop and rest a while with a hot or cold beverage and a hot meal if you like, from looking at the menu the prices for a meal average around £10.00. They offer a fair selection of snacks and meals for you to choose from.

The Gift Shop was over priced like many, many gift shops at tourist locations, I have to say, and even for the sake of a review I did not give it much of my time.

~~ A Little Bit Of History ~~

The first castle was built here in Norman times, but due to The War of the Roses, the Civil War and not forgetting a major fire in 1816, the castle had to be rebuilt, making this the final version being the fourth one to be built on this site.

The castle is currently the home of the Duke and Duchess of Rutland and it has been in his family since 1506.

I know it's only a little bit of history, but you can find more via the website and guide book.

~~ The Gardens ~~

The grounds are vast and steep; you can by a laminated map complete with information sheet on the back about the various areas from the gift shop and ticket office in the car park at the start of your journey.

The Duchess Gardens just off the horseshoe turn on your way up to the castle. We did not visit these ourselves due to the distance for me to walk, so info here is taken from the back of the map. The Duchess Gardens are to be found at the end of a woodland path which is flanked with azaleas and rhododendrons, it is better known as the Spring Gardens named after the natural water spring you will find there. It was created by Elizabeth the 5th Duchess between 1800 and 1825 and contains trees and shrubs from around the world. It also contains a Grade 1 listed Summer Pavilion 'Root and Branch' made from tree routes and branches; it is one of many around the estate but by far the best quality.

Retracing your steps back to the main path towards the house you come to the Garden of Statues, we did not walk down to this, but you did get a beautiful view of it looking down from the Rose Gardens. It is easy for you to divert from the main road and walk round to the lily pond which is surrounded by statues by Caius Gabriel Cibber who was the sculptor to King Charles II. Once you have walked round here you can make your way up into the Rose Garden which is the nearest one to the main castle. It has a beautiful little ornate summerhouse, but it is sadly not open for safety reasons, you have the odd statue and giant urns containing hostas in between beds of roses which were planted in 2002, definitely worth a little walk round.

There is a children's adventure playground in the grounds as well.

~~ Other Info ~~

The guided tour starts at 12.30pm.

On selected weekends they have guides dressed in authentic costumes and they conduct re-enactments. There is also a Jousting area where they host events.

Children's quizzes are available to make it educational and fun for them.

Belvoir is also for hire for State Dinners, Conferences and Weddings, details can be found on their website www.belvoircastle.com. Although a really beautiful and idyllic setting for your special day it could work out very expensive.

I would also advise that if your visit is planned for a weekend, especially if you have to travel a distance to ring and check everything is open, as I did notice whilst checking their website that it was closed one Saturday for a wedding.

From the film the Da Vinci Code, they used Belvoir Castle for the shots of the Castel Gandolfo.

~~ Prices and Opening Hours ~~

It is open from April until September from 11 am - 5pm last entry at 4pm to the castle. Apart from Mondays and Fridays when it is closed, unless it is a Bank Holiday then it is open.

Castle and all the gardens

Adults - £10.00
Students/Senior Citizens - £9.00
Children (5-16) - £5.00
Family (2 adults and 3 children) - £26.00

Gardens only

Adults - £5.00
Children - FOC

This is also part of the Hidden England Passport offer, where if you have been to any of the other five stately homes or castles previously this season you can get in on a bog off, buy one get one free on your tickets, other places included are Burghley House, Grimsthorpe Castle, Belton House and Rockingham Castle.

~~ Directions ~~

Belvoir Castle
Belvoir
Leicestershire
NG32 1PE

01476 871002

You can take the A1 then on to the A52 at Grantham, just outside Grantham onto the A607 towards Melton Mowbray to Belvoir Castle. (Hope that helps)
~~ Overall ~~

A wonderful day out, well worth a visit and taking the time to enjoy what Belvoir Castle has to offer, not to forget the magnificent views across the valley. I feel they have worked hard to provide enjoyment for both young and old here.

Most definitely worth a vist

Thank you so much for reading

Lyn x

 

...less