🏰 CASTLE HOWARD CIRCULAR WALK FROM BULMER TO CONEYSTHORPE
🥾 This Castle Howard circular walk explores around 8¾ miles of the Howardian Hills, beginning in the North Yorkshire village of Bulmer and passing through a varied landscape of farmland, woodland, estate tracks and quiet villages. Along the way, the route takes in some of the best-known features of the wider Castle Howard estate, including the Gate House, New River Bridge, the Temple of the Four Winds and views towards the Mausoleum.
🗺️ Starting from Bulmer, the walk heads past St Martin's Church and Bulmer Village Hall before crossing fields and passing through Brandrith Wood to reach The Stray. From there, the route continues through the Gate House and across the Castle Howard estate, passing the Towers and the Pyramid before crossing New River Bridge and climbing towards the Temple of the Four Winds. After skirting Ray Wood, the walk reaches Coneysthorpe, then turns west through Cum Hag Wood to Ganthorpe before heading south through Mowthorpe Dale and Ox Pasture Wood for the return to Bulmer.
📏 The walk is approximately 8¾ miles, or 14 kilometres, and takes around four hours to complete. Total ascent is about 807 feet, or 246 metres, and the route is circular. OS Explorer 300 covers the area. Much of the walking is straightforward, although there are short stretches of road walking, some field paths where the practical line follows the field edges rather than the mapped right of way, and parts of Mowthorpe Dale that can become a little overgrown.
🏛️ Castle Howard has been associated with the Howard family for more than three centuries, and the surrounding estate once extended across more than 13,000 acres. The house itself developed over many decades from the early 18th century, with John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor closely involved in its Baroque design. The surrounding landscape is equally important, with formal gardens, lakes, woodland, parkland and architectural features such as the Temple of the Four Winds, the Mausoleum, the Pyramid and several other follies and eyecatchers spread across the wider estate.
🌿 There is plenty to enjoy beyond the main estate landmarks. St Martin's Church in Bulmer has ancient fabric dating back to the 11th century, while Coneysthorpe has its memorial cross and attractive 19th-century chapel. New River Bridge provides memorable views towards both the Temple of the Four Winds and the Mausoleum, while Brandrith Wood, Cum Hag Wood and Mowthorpe Dale add quieter stretches of woodland and countryside. Ganthorpe is another lovely stopping point, with its small village green and 18th-century sandstone water pump.
📷 It is a walk with a good mixture of scenery, history and architecture, and one that reveals far more of the Castle Howard landscape than the house alone. If you would like to see the full route, more photographs, detailed directions, walk statistics and mapping information, you can explore the Castle Howard circular walk in greater detail on my website.
https://www.paulbeal.com/castle-howard-circular-walk
