Britain's Historic Houses Welcoming Spring: What's Opening This March
As snowdrops give way to daffodils, many of Britain's most magnificent historic houses (our member houses) are throwing open their doors for a new season. March marks the return of a beloved national ritual - the pilgrimage to grand estates, ancient castles, and their equally impressive gardens - which if you’re anything like us, is a very exciting prospect.
Castle country leads the charge, with Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire, one of England's oldest continuously inhabited castles and the site of Edward II's murder in 1327, welcoming visitors once more. Further north, the fairytale silhouette of Glamis Castle in Angus - childhood home of the late Queen Mother - reopens its doors, as does the dramatically cliff-perched Dunnottar Castle on Scotland's northeast coast, and the romantically ruined Gwrych Castle in North Wales, which has been undergoing a remarkable restoration. Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire, seat of the Dukes of Rutland and a favourite film location, also joins the opening roster.
Grand English country houses are well represented too. Newby Hall in North Yorkshire, celebrated for its Robert Adam interiors and exceptional gardens, reopens alongside Holkham Hall in Norfolk, the great Palladian palace at the heart of a working estate. Doddington Hall in Lincolnshire - an Elizabethan gem - and Lowther Castle in Cumbria, whose romantic skeletal ruins are as dramatic as any in Europe, both return for the new season. Rockingham Castle in Northamptonshire, which inspired Charles Dickens, and the Baroque splendour of Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire are also back.
London and the South are not left out. Syon Park - the Duke of Northumberland's London seat, home to a breathtaking Great Conservatory - reopens alongside the deeply fascinating Hellfire Caves at West Wycombe, an 18th-century network of chalk tunnels associated with the infamous Hellfire Club. Sudeley Castle in the Cotswolds, burial place of Catherine Parr, reopens as well, and the eccentric grandeur of Carlton Towers in Yorkshire returns to welcome guests.
Gardens-only for now, Trewithen in Cornwall - one of the finest spring gardens in Britain, famed for its camellias and magnolias - opens its grounds this month while the house awaits its later-season debut.
We’ll see you there.. And remember to book ahead (by visiting our houses page) where you can - these houses don't stay quiet for long.
