Reviews

A lovely place

We booked the last tour of the day (3pm) on Thursday 21 August. Lovely property and staff. (David on the ticket office was charming and Chris who was our tour guide was delightful - very knowledgeable and with a very keen sense of humor.) An extremely enjoyable afternoon. We will be back and will probably spend a whole day on site next time.

Family holiday

A beautiful castle with lots of history. Magnificent gardens and lake and shout out to are very knowledgeable guide Elliot who gave a great tour. Sherborne is worth a visit if you are in area on holiday

A wonderful experience

A wonderful experience. The setting of Sherborne Castle is quite magnificent. The gardens are beautifully planted, creating a series of secret rooms within the grounds, each one leading onto another area, full to the brim with wonderful flowers, shrubs and trees, a gardener's delight. The house tour was very informative and definitely gave the visitor an insight to the history of the Castle, family and contents, though I could have stayed for hours, studying all the beautiful paintings, drawings and artefacts, particularly the clocks. The Museum was very well laid out and explored the workings of the wider Estate, in addition to more detailed history of the area, so really fascinating. A really enjoyable day, as I am a HH member, I will definitely be returning to see the grounds in their Autumn Glory. Thank you so much to the family for allowing visitors into their home and gardens.

Sherborne Castle, grounds & guided tour

We visited Sherborne Castle, originally the home of Sir Walter Raleigh a Tudor house that he moved into from the old castle which are ruins now. It is still occupied so no photos of the inside. Amazing grounds (added later) & a great piece of history, well worth booking the guided tour, our guide Elena was brilliant. Very knowledgeable and funny. If you are ever near Sherborne visit the ‘new’ castle…. book the tour & enjoy.

A fascinating look at a family home through history...

My wife and I visited Sherborne Castle yesterday, and very much enjoyed our tour in the knowledgeable and humorous company of our guide, Bill. This is a really interesting 'replacement' castle for the original one (within a close distance), and all the more so because it's been a living, breathing home in the same family for over 400 years. The tour takes about an hour and it's best to book, we didn't but struck lucky with our tour as it started about ten minutes after we arrived. As there's so much to see on site and two walks you could easily spend a full half day there... and finish up in the delightful garden centre cafe!

Great tour!

Tour guide Adam was very knowledgeable and interesting to listen to. He clearly knew a lot of the castles history . The gardens were very peaceful and despite very dry weather there was still a lot of colour. Although we live relatively near we have not been before but we will definitely be back.

Lovely place to visit

Lovely gardens, grounds and house. The house tour with Christopher was outstanding. He was very knowledgeable, friendly and amusing.

Wonderful House and Wonderful Guide

We visited on a beautiful warm day and thoroughly enjoyed the House. Our guide Adam was superb. He was a fund of information about the Castle…its history, furniture and paintings. The House is kept immaculately and amusing details like book titles on display made our visit so enjoyable. The grounds are exceptionally well kept also. We have visited many Historic Houses and Sherborne in certainly in the Premier League along with Adam the guide. Great and amusing guided tour. Ask for George for your tour. Young but knowledgeable and very funny!

Great and amusing guided tour. Ask for George for your tour. Young but knowledgeable and very funny!

Sherborne Castle — a place where history breathes through stone and flowers

This place is truly amazing! Sherborne Castle — not just an ancient building, but a whole world in which 500 years of English history, beauty and nobility have been preserved. Founded in 1594 by order of the famous Sir Walter Raleigh, this castle was not only a private residence, but also a diplomatic and cultural centre of the era of Elizabeth I.

The building is elegant, bright, with windows to the ground, incredible interiors and the atmosphere of the refined life of past centuries. The library and dining room are especially impressive — as if from a costume drama!

But the real pearl is the landscaped gardens and lake. They were created by Capability Brown himself, the famous "nature artist" of the 18th century. Quiet alleys, bridges, tulips, roses, lilies - and all this with a view of the castle reflected in the water. Here you want to stop, breathe and just be.

Life hacks for a visit: Allow at least 2-3 hours, because the castle and the territory are large and worthy of attention. If you go with children - take duck feed and a snack for a picnic. Very friendly staff, who are happy to share facts and stories. Even children are interested - everything is presented with care and in an accessible form.

Summary: Sherborne Castle is not just an excursion, it is a journey through time, where you can touch the heritage, inspiration and beauty. One of the most beautiful castles I've visited in the UK.

A very enjoyable day out. I recommend booking a guided tour around the house in advance, there are time slots available. The guided tour by Adam was very informative and interesting. He must have done the same talk countless times but still managed to make it very interesting and personable, his knowledge was excellent. You can't take photos inside but plenty of photo opportunities around the gardens. Overall worth every penny.

Had a great wander around New Sherborne Castle yesterday, I can recommend the guided tour of the castle interior, it's really interesting. Sir Walter Raleigh acquired the original Old 12thC Norman castle at Sherborne in 1592. In 1594 he built a Tudor mansion in the adjoining deer park, expanding it in 1600 with the addition of four corner turrets. In 1617 the English diplomat Sir John Digby acquired Old Sherborne Castle and he added four wings to Raleigh’s building, giving the mansion its present H-shape. In 1645, during the English Civil War, the old 12thC castle fell to Parliamentarian forces, was demolished and the name 'Sherborne Castle' passed to the mansion in the deer park! Capability Brown landscaped the grounds in the 18thC.

Surprisingly good. The exterior doesn't do it justice. You have to be shown around by a guide and you can't take pictures inside but this place is well worth a visit. Amazing decor, fireplaces and furniture. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and gave us some interesting facts and history that bring this place to life. A walk around the lake is highly recommended too! Nowadays everything seems expensive however I thought it was great value for money.

We visited Sherborne castle today and wanted to share our experience. On arrival you park on site which is free and get tickets from a little kiosk hub which is also a little gift shop. Although you can’t enter booth they guys are happy to show you everything and tell you prices. It’s a 10 minute walk up to castle and you can only be on a guided tour. At first we were a bit unkeen at this idea as we like to wander freely and take time. However it was brilliant we were met by bill and JJ. Who were so friendly and knowledgeable. You’re not rushed and tell you lots of history of the home. The tour is an hour and then you have free time in basement and kitchen would took a further 30 mins. I am disabled but able to walk at slow place and use stairs with rails. Only the first floor is fully accessible but they have a screen with a guide for rest of house. Each room has a blue seat you can use to have a rest. The grounds are part accessible for scooter and wheelchair although the most pretty part of garden and statues is not accessible due to very steep and narrow path. Though we expected this as read accessibility guide on website. The cafe/restaurant is not on parkland it is next door in garden centre next to car park. Lovely big restaurant fully accessible and great menus and food. Overall we really enjoyed our trip it’s worth a visit the castle and house are beautiful. It’s a very quiet and peaceful place. The staff are wonderful and friendly and helpful. Shout out to our tour guides Bill and JJ. We will return to Sherborne in the future as we loved it.

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