Beautiful View (Belvoir Castle)

Member Name: helencb

Product:	Belvoir Castle
Date:	02/06/06 (672 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Beautiful Views, Great History

Disadvantages: Cost

Belvoir Castle and Estate is located in Leicestershire, approximately 11 miles from Melton Mowbray, and a similar distance from Bingham. I have driven past it several times, and as it is so close to me, I felt it was essential to check it out sooner rather than later, to see if it can offer what my previous castle of choice - Culzean Castle in Ayrshire - offered me and the family for so many years.

Entry
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My first shock on researching it on the internet was the entry fee. It costs a whopping £10 per adult for entry, with only a £1 discount for students and senior citizens. Family tickets were a slightly more reasonable £26, and if it is gardens only you want, it still will set you back £5.

Nevertheless, we decided to go, and in fact it was fairly late on when we arrived and I did contemplate purchasing a season ticket for £18 a person, although we did not opt for this in the end, as we were still not sure if it was somewhere we would likely to return again and again.

The Castle does not appear to be part of any Heritage trust type organisations, and therefore there is no escaping the entry fee, if you want in the door, you have to pay!

And to add insult to injury, they charge a further £1 to park the car! That said, there didn't seem to be any control over this, and therefore I escaped without paying. It was either that or remortgage the house for the visit…

The ticket desk is within a very small shop in the car park, and this can get packed at times. The castle is a five minute walk up a reasonably steep slope, and is not suitable if you are not reasonably fit. It was a slope with no steps however, and there was limited vehicular access up a driveway if required and if agreed.

Brief History of the Castle
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The present owners are the Duke and Duchess of Rutland, and the Castle has belonged to their family since the early 16th century, when the family came down from Northumberland. There has been a castle on the site since the time of William the Conqueror although fire and civil war have taken their inevitable toll and the current castle dates back to 1816.


The Castle and Castle Tour
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The peacocks in the Castle courtyard are sure to entertain any visitors to the castle and my trip was no exception. The castle also have events from time to time, and there was a Medieval Jousting event taking part on the grounds on a lower level to the castle, which was complimentary with the ticket price.

Visitors enter the castle through the pre guard room, and into the guard room. Immediately the links between this castle/family and the military begin to show through. The walls are adorned with over 100 19th century muskets and immediately before entering the Guard Room itself there is a very quaint door-sign called the "Speak a Word Room", used by the duke to speak with staff.

The military and hunting theme continues into the Guardroom, which contains a further abundance of all things designed to kill and maim. Structurally, this stone room is huge, with its ceiling height being the equivalent of two castle sized floors. Huge staircases make their way to the second level.

The castle itself contains a museum which works through various regiments which now form the Queens Royal Lancers. I am sure this would be particularly interesting to persons interested in the military and memorabilia however it just didn't quite do it for me, as it was not particularly interactive, but was mainly a chain of display cabinets with uniforms, silverware, some history and the like.

Castle tours can only really show a sample of their rooms and leave the visitor to imagine how life may have been, and this castle is no exception. Many of the rooms which are on view to the public are absolutely magnificent. The ballroom has been used in modern times and takes some of its design from Lincoln Cathedral. Providing the rooms are not in use, (and thankfully they weren't) you can also peak into two Chinese rooms, adorned with hand painted silks for wallpaper and luxurious beds.

The State Dining Room was one of my favourite Rooms. The table was set to seat around 30 diners, and certainly had a grand feel about it, particularly when you consider the lucky individuals who might get to dine in there occasionally. One of the more unusual features in the room was that of a huge silver wine cooler dating back to the 17th century. I remember looking at it and thinking it was large enough to bath four babies simultaneously, and indeed later on in the tour, I saw more than one picture of the current Duke and Duchesses children posing in the wine cooler!

The picture gallery was not a particularly large room, but there was an abundance of oil paintings on its four walls. For me the most obvious were a portrait of Henry VIII and a painting of the Last Supper (which everyone immediately studies for any links to Dan Brown claims!). My favourite picture in this room was one called The Proverbs by David Teniers II who lived in the 17th Century. The picture itself is an agricultural/village scene incorporating many famous proverbs in oils, hard to explain but very appealing.

I think Castle Libraries hold appeal for most visitors, and I enjoyed seeing the dates on some of these books, many of which are several hundred years old, and unheard of to me, with a few exceptions that jumped out. One of the Castle Libraries is currently closed to visitors, while its collection are being taken care of/restored.

While the gardens were pleasant, I was a little disappointed that there was not more to see. The castle overlooks the main Rose Gardens, and it was probably a little too early in the season to see anything particularly colourful. That said, the land surrounding the castle was pleasant if not for the fact that it was natural and not overly manicured.




Overall, I have to say I was slightly disappointed with my visit. I arrived at 2pm and wondered if 3 hours would be enough to see everything I wanted to. As it was, I had walked back down the slope to the car park within 90-100 minutes of my arrival. When you leave the "Lancers" museum, there is a charity box, explaining they get no funds from the castle entry fee, and again I was disappointed at this, as it is very unfair to ask visitors who have already paid £10 to contribute yet more!

The Castle itself has a magnificent setting in the Vale of Belvoir. It is also an extremely attractive building, and I enjoyed many aspects of the visit. However, I think £5 entry fee would have been good value for money. As it is I would struggle to give it more than 6/10 in terms of overall value/enjoyment, and can only recommend a visit if you have a keen interest in old properties of this type/military history.

You however, might disagree.

www.belvoircastle.com
Open April to September (but not Mondays or Fridays)
Open from 11am to 5pm with last entry 4pm

(The name Belvoir means "Beautiful View")

Summary: Worth it if you can make the most of it with a picnic and enjoy the gardens but a little expensive