A stately home that featured as one of the Bridgerton filming locations has just been named the most beautiful stately home in the world. Castle Howard in North Yorkshire took the top spot in new rankings, thanks to its Grade I-listed baroque house and picturesque gardens.
The lavish house took 100 years to build, and nowadays you'll find extensive parkland and formal gardens, where you may even spot the occasional peacock, ExaminerLive reports. New research by interior experts Swift Direct Blinds, combined reviews from Yelp and TripAdvisor to uncover the world's top 10 most beautiful stately homes.
The very Viking-sounding village of Henderskelfe was cleared to make way for the house. The grade I-listed baroque house and its gardens sit on the site of Henderskelfe village which was cleared to make way for the property, and a medieval castle which burnt down in 1693. Henderskelfe Church was where the main garden stands today while the South Lake occupies the site of the old rectory.
Beyond the house, the 1,000 acres of parkland incorporate rolling lawns, lakes, fountains, temples, woodland, an ornamental walled garden and children's playground, and on-site facilities include a farm shop, gift shop, café and garden centre.
TV fans may also recognise it for a number of TV shows including the Courtship, and Brideshead Revisited. It was also used for an Artic Monkeys music video. Meanwhile in hit Netflix show Bridgerton, the house doubled as the Duke of Hasting's country home, Clyvedon Castle in the first season of the series.
There are guided tours on offer for visitors, and for those who fancy a tipple you can also enjoy a Hedgrew tour and gin tasting with Sloemotion Distillery this summer. The House, Gardens and Skelf Island Adventure Playground are open daily from 10am (9am for Friends of Castle Howard) with last admission to the House at 3pm and Gardens at 5pm and site closure at 6pm.
It wasn't the only UK property to make the cut; Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire took second place in the rankings, while Windsor Castle and Hampton Court also featured in the top 10. You can find out more about the stately home on castlehoward.co.uk.
Looking for more film and TV inspired breaks in the UK? Check out our filming locations guide including UK spots that featured in the likes of Harry Potter, The Crown, Peaky Blinders and the James Bond franchise.
There are plenty of beautiful stately homes across the UK to explore - and earlier this year, the list just got longer after a house owned by a family for 600 years finally opened to the public. The home on the Scottish border was not open to the public in over half a century, but in March opened its doors for the summer.
Visited by 27 monarchs over its 900-year history, Traquair has been home to the Stuart family for nearly 600 of those and acted as a Catholic stronghold during the Jacobite rebellion. The country's doomed monarch Mary Queen of Scots also visited Traquair two centuries earlier in 1566, with the King's Room where she stayed still possessing relics belonging to her.
Do you think Castle Howard deserves the accolade? Let us know in the comments below.
