I had been out earlier this morning with Meg & Gracie for a good walk and whilst having breakfast and reading the weather forecast in the ‘Yorkshire Post’ we decided to pack the car and head over to Castle Howard for some fresh air and have a walk around the garden and grounds for a few hours.

 We have had a few days just recently when the weather has been cold, dull, wet and miserable, typical winter weather I suppose, and I was getting a little frustrated about being stuck in the house, I needed to get out and have a good walk in different surroundings.

We arrived at around 10.30am after a straightforward journey from home with no hold ups or incidents along the A64. The house is currently closed at the moment which wasn’t a problem as we were going just to walk around the estate, the house opens again after a busy Christmas period on the 30th March for the new season.

We purchased a coffee each from the Courtyard café before heading into the ticket office and the walk down to the house. This morning we walked past the Northern side of the house with stunning views over the North Lake on the left and Boat house café. We continued past the Estate offices up into ‘Ray Woods. It was a steady climb up the hill to the reservoir and quite slippery underfoot after all the rain we have had recently, the water level looked lower than usual but as a result it showed up the stone carvings on the bottom of the central pillar, with images of mammals and fish clearly visible. From the reservoir we followed the track to the right and through the gate to the top of the wood. Lots of Snowdrops are beginning to come through the soil and I should think will be in flower in the next couple of weeks or so depending on the weather. We continued left in the wood heading towards the Temple of Four winds, we veered left near the track that took you to the Temple and headed back into the woods as though we were heading for the Boathouse café. The trees obviously are all quite bare having shed their leaves several months ago, but looking at the ground there is still plenty to see with various forms of fungi as well as the early spring flowering bulbs of snowdrop and crocus just popping their heads through the leaf mulch on the floor. 

The history of Ray Wood can be traced back to the eighteenth century when it was first established, unfortunately the woods went into neglect and over time reverted back to an unmanaged woodland. It wasn’t until the war effort in the early 1940’s when the area was clear felled. The main canopy of trees we see today were planted as recently as 1948 and made up of oak, beech and sweet chestnut. It wasn’t until 1968 when the late James Russell a plantsman came to Castle Howard and began to replant and establish the woodland exists today.

Considering that Ray Woods covers an area of 25 acres the staff and volunteers have done an amazing job in restoring the woodland and re-establishing paths and trails. It was in 2010 that the Castle Howard Arboretum Trust realised what work needed doing to restore it to what we see today.  

The garden is planted on acidic soil and is able to support a variety of Rhododendrons, during the spring they turn the woods in to a palette of colour, today on our walk around we can just marvel at the size and shape of the leaves. 

Many of the trees planted in the wood come from all over the world including India and Japan, Argentina and Chile and it is fascinating as you walk round to see the different shapes and forms they make as well as the different colours of the tree bark.

We came out of the woods near the ruined monument of Venus. I hope in years to come there are plans to re-establish this monument on the edge of the woods. It commands such a strong position overlooking the fields that make up the Howardian hills. It is a short steady walk uphill to reach the Temple of Four Winds, another fine monument with stunning views of the surrounding countryside. After a rest to get our breath and enjoy the views we headed back to the house, before passing the South Lake. This path will be awash, well the surrounding slopes will be awash with Daffodils in a couple of months’ time and several of the different varieties were already growing through the grass today. From the corner of the house there are some beautiful views looking south over the lake, we stopped for a few moments before heading back to the Courtyard. We were going to have lunch in the Courtyard restaurant but as I popped my head around the door I could see it was very busy and as we had the dogs with us we decided on ‘plan two’ which was to buy some sandwiches and warm drinks from the courtyard coffee shop and have a picnic in the car with Meg and Gracie.