Ripley, Harrogate HG3 3AY, UK – 01423 770152
Stunning. Attended a wedding here in the old part of the castle. Another wedding was going on in the newer (and larger section) but you wouldn't have known other than the stray guests that wandered around during our drink reception. Couldn't blame them the grounds are fantastic. Food was wonderful. Wine was excellent. Staff were brilliant. Highly highly recommend.
We missed the tour of the castle and were only able to see around the garden. Admission to the gardens was £5. I'll tell you it was £5 well spent. The views of the castle from the other side of the lake were outstanding. We also found a strange piece of architecture, an eel tower. The person who lived in the castle loved eating eels, so he build this tower with a pond inside inside so he could have eels whenever he wanted, strange man. After the lake we wandered around until we came to the kitchen garden. There were plenty of crops growing but they looked like they needed a good soaking! The path then lead us out to the tea room. Although we didn't eat, the food looked fantastic and was reasonably priced. However, we did try the ice creams. Yummy!! A fairly wide range of flavours which we sampled, so we could add it into the review of course! The last stop was the gift shop which was not filled with tat but a range of pottery, exquisite cards that were reasonable priced. Good day out for the family.