Ripley Castle and Gardens

Ripley Castle is a historic family house on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales, home to the Ingilby family for centuries. Families can join guided castle tours that bring the building's stories, armour and hidden priest holes to life, which older children tend to enjoy most. Outside, the estate is much easier for younger visitors to enjoy. There is a restored walled garden with heritage vegetables and fruit trees, hot houses with tropical plants, and a lakeside walk past waterfalls. The deer park has fallow deer and plenty of birdlife, though dogs are kept out of it. A coffee shop, tearoom and village pub make it easy to break up the day. On the last Sunday of each month a market fills the castle courtyard and the gardens are free to enter that day.