Reviews

A veritable treasure house in stunning parkland

By virtue of having been held in the same family for around 400 years, the house and its collections have a unique sense of continuity, which is very evident with all the family portraits. The property is well-staffed with very welcoming personnel and the cafe provided a delightful setting for a light lunch. Highly recommend.

Fascinating historical facts

I think we learned more history here than ever in a classroom! The fact sheets were informative and the guides friendly and knowledgable without being pushy. The tour around the house was well laid out and we particularly enjoyed the kitchen and basement area. The shop was good, well stocked and reasonably priced, especially compared with some of the gift shops in town. We enjoyed coffee then lunch in the tea room, before a lovely walk around the grounds. The castle and grounds are well maintained and we marvelled at the amount of work this must involve! Thank you to the Digby family for sharing this amazing history with the general public.

Stunning gardens

The house is magnificent but the gardens alone deserve a lot of exploratory time. Designed by Capability Brown the gardens centrepiece is a magnificent lake. Leave plenty of time to appreciate the beauty of what’s here. A must see if you are in the area.

Fantastic experience

We had a brilliant day here. Loved the house with all the family history and also that of Sir Walter Raleigh. Really enjoyed the walk around the beautiful grounds, what a fantastic place.

Excellent visit, wonderful grounds and very interesting castle

Visited with Australian guests and they were blown away by this castle and grounds. Really interesting place with great staff and well documented history. Liked the information leaflets in each room, very illuminating. We spent over 3 hours here, 2 in the castle alone.Highly recommended. If there is any negative it would be that the senior discount of 50p is a little.

Bowled over!

I took my 84 year old father and 18 year old daughter and we were bowled over. It was at once illuminating, fascinating and inspiring. The interior of the castle was beautifully presented and authentic. The guides were so knowledgeable and genuinely enthusiastic and were able to convey that to 3 generations.... they added hugely to our visit. The grounds offered both sweeping vistas and carefully crafted landscaping dating back centuries... it will be amazing to see in late spring and summer. It was such a delight to come across such an amazing piece of history so close to home...... well my father’s home to be exact as I live in the NW of England . We will be back.... ps the cream tea was also delightful.

Beautiful historic castle and gardens

Had a wonderful day here with friends, the castle once belonged to Sir Walter Rayleigh so lots of interesting history to read and see. The gardens were beautiful and colourful with amazing views with lots of walking trails, with great cafe of an abundance of choices on the menu with a souvenir shop. Would definitely recommend this castle for a great day out.

Fascinating visit to a stunning castle full of history

Had a really interesting visit to the castle, originally owned by Walter Raleigh. Lots of other history though especially the time of the civil war. The rooms felt lived in and each one had a list of the items in the room and generally a card with some history of the people related to the castle. No need to buy a guide book given the information in each room. The staff were all very helpful which made for a genuinely positive experience. The gardens are extensive so you need to allow a couple of hours for this also.

Splendid day out!

A beautifully preserved castle and grounds. Excellent information on the history of this lovely home. The castle is privately owned and the staff are employed by the owners; staff couldn't have been more friendly and helpful. A real treat.

Probably the best stately home I have visited

I don’t think I have ever taken as long to compose what I want to say about this place. I wanted to make sure I did it justice. Absolutely delightful. Wonderful walk around the lake, a house oozing quality, charm and history and room stewards/ guides who were very informative and a pleasure to listen to and talk to. So many stately homes are dark, dingy and sterile. Sherborne Castle isn’t. It’s light, airy, vibrant and breathes life. The best value for money I have had in ages.

Hours of Enjoyment

Spent hours enjoying both the grounds and the inside of Sherborne castle today. The weather was perfect warm and sunny and the grounds with all the daffodils were a photographers paradise. I understand that the daffodils are Sherborne Castle versions (pity the shop does not give the opportunity to purchase some) would have made a perfect souvenir to take home, shop manager please note for future?? Had a lovely walk along the paths beside the lake enjoying the trees and the flowers - the views were very clear today and noticed the deer in the distance. It was so peaceful and the gardeners all pass the time of day, what a lovely place to work! The grounds are immaculate and well maintained, some of the shrubs and trees are also named. Keep an eye out for the Heron on the lake. Coffee shop is very pleasant, enjoyed a cream tea, scones large and fresh filled with fruit. Plenty of seating inside including upstairs and additional seating outside around the back. Toilets are outside or across the courtyard. The shop is located in the same courtyard. The house is beautiful and full of history. Each room has a guide who are very knowledgeable and happy to answer questions, there is also laminated information cards complete with diagrams of where you are in the house which is an excellent idea. The house has an air of luxury and I felt quite privileged to be there. Although there are plenty of paintings I preferred looking at the photographs, nice to see the homely feel of family photographs framed on top of beautiful furniture. No photographs permitted in the house however you can buy postcards in the shop.

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