Step through the wardrobe into a magical adventure this festive season.
Castle Howard are delighted to announce that tickets will go on sale for the anticipated return of an indoor Christmas spectacular, after last year’s Coronavirus restrictions dashed the hopes of opening the House to visitors, during what would normally be the North Yorkshire Stately Home’s busiest month of the year.
The Christmas team are going all out with a theme that will take festivities to a whole new level. Inspired by the much-adored novels by C. S. Lewis the historic house will be turned into the wintery, magical land of Narnia. Visitors will journey through the grand state rooms and experience installations based on scenes from the epic stories. And of course, the 26 foot Christmas tree will once again adorn the Great Hall, ladened with over 3000 baubles.
Castle Howard will welcome back theatrical designers Charlotte Lloyd Webber, Bretta Gereke and team who have worked their magic on Castle Howard at Christmas for the past four seasons. This year they join creative forces with The Projection Studio’s Ross Ashton and Karen Monid who will add a layer of projection mapped magic and sound installation to the room decorations that Charlotte Lloyd Webber’s team are well known for.
Lloyd Webber says ‘Narnia is iconic, and the team have been working on some very exciting designs inspired by the story. Expect lavish decorations as always. By working with an amazingly creative team of designers, florists, costumiers, prop and set builders and lighting, projection and sound artists it feels like this year we are taking Castle Howard’s Christmas up another notch. We all missed Castle Howard so much at Christmas last year, we’ve had two years of dreaming up ideas and we can’t wait to dust off the baubles, start building and making the designs a reality!’
This year is set to be Castle Howard’s biggest festival celebration yet, with the House opening for even longer, Saturday 13th November – Monday 3rd January with more tickets available into the evening, so that visitors can enjoy the stunning Christmas displays, lighting effects and decorations as dusk falls. Tickets will need to be pre-booked and will be going on sale during the week commencing 26th July, with a pre-sale for Castle Howard members.
‘Although hopefully many of the government restrictions will have been lifted, we will continue to keep our staff and visitors safe by asking all visitors to pre-book a time slot to enter the House and by keeping a one way flow throughout the experience. The House is open now following the most recent lockdown and by managing the flow of visitors, with entry times every 15 minutes, it means there are less queues and everyone has a much more relaxed experience. We will continue with this, throughout the remainder of our summer season and into Christmas’ says Abbigail Ollive, Head of Marketing and Programming. ‘We expect there to be really high demand for tickets to Christmas, we know how much it is a special part of so many people’s year and understand how much everyone missed not being able to come last year. So, my advice would be to book a slot early and get planning your visit with friends and family so there’s a real treat to look forward to at the end of the year!’
Visitors will also be thrilled to hear that Father Christmas will be back once again. One of the north’s most hotly sought after tickets, ‘An Enchanted Audience with Father Christmas’ will take place inside the House with the same format that delighted audiences in 2020. There will also be a Grotto in the Courtyard running on weekends in December and School Holiday days.
It is easy to spend a whole day at Castle Howard during the festive opening season, with the Farm Shop and Gift Shops an excellent choice to buy local and pick up unique Christmas gifts, plus the Christmas Emporium will be back stocked up to the brim with baubles and decorations enabling you to take a piece of Castle Howard Christmas home. The Garden Centre is the perfect place to choose a British grown tree and has a wide range of gifts for the green fingered and also some fabulous toys and treats for four legged friends. And indulge in a range of delicious goodies, with tasty Yorkshire treats served up in all of our on site cafes and restaurants.
For more information, please visit www.castlehoward.co.uk
