Rockingham Castle

Loved it, free walking tour around the grounds and people in most rooms full of information to share.

Having driven past, talked about it, and seen it in the media, today, after many, many years, we visited! And we were so pleased we did.Rockingham Castle is a special gem that everyone should visit at least once, even if it's only to see Charles Dicken's favourite leather chair. The guides are full of information and freely talk continuously, giving snippets of historical information about the castle.The gardens, grounds, and small church are equally impressive, along with the spectacular views.

Rockingham dates back to the Norman conquest, and has been used as a royal residence by Edward III, being a significant castle, comparable with Windsor Castle before becoming a ruin. Despite this, there is an impressive family home incorporating the historic earlier buildings, excellent panoramic views and delightful gardens, outlining the former castle.The Watson family open their house regularly, with guided tours taking you around the kitchens and downstairs rooms which are full of paintings, objects and interest from the room guides. Light lunches and teas are provided by a charming historic cafe near the cylindrical medieval gatehouse.Rockingham Castle was an unexpected pleasure, giving a new insight into Northamptonshire and British history. Highly recommended for a two to three hour visit.

Amazing history going back almost 1000 years. 2 owners from new. House was decked out as it would have been at Christmas 1849. We had the tour with the butler. Good experience, other staff members dressed in period and in character. Booking necessary but well worth it, good value, farmers also amazing.

We have just spent a fabulous day at the Halloween Event at Rockingham Castle. We took two of our grandchildren who live in Northamptonshire and we have all had a truly memorable day.Thank you to each and every witch, wizard, skeleton, cat, and everyone else who made our day so wonderful. The castle was decorated so well and with such expertise. We had a lovely lunch in the tea rooms, thank you to everyone there. It was a perfect day which we can highly recommend and the lovely weather today helped too. We are definitely going to revisit in the summer as it's such a beautiful place with amazing views from the grounds. Thank you also to the family in ownership/residence for sharing your beautiful home.

We had a beautiful day out at Rockingham Castle. We did the guided tour of the garden, Lesley was a lovely friendly guide, very informative about the history of the castle and Gardens.There is a nice tea room there, with seats outside that have an amazing panoramic view.The inside of the castle also gave lots of information about the history.Well worth the trip and I will definitely come back to see the gardens in different seasons.

A truly lovely place to visit. I didn't go inside as I had the dog but the walks and gardens were brilliant. I would definitely come back on a sunny day to walk the dog.

A lovely place to visit. The house and gardens are a delight.The guided tour of the garden with the history of the house and its guests should not be missed.

Myself and son visited Rockingham (Aug bank holiday) for the teddy bear picnic, view the castle and the gardens. It is fascinating to walk through periodic rooms, taking in the smells, colours and viewing the beautiful furniture however, I was disappointed to find that no rooms upstairs were open. Making the walk round the castle very short.We did get to try on the helmets and gloves in the great hall, walk around the grounds, view ST Leonards Church and the ice House.Goldilocks and the three bears were very interactive and engaging with the children, even played some games.Throughout the holidays the days to visit were limited to only a Tuesday and Sunday (incl Bank Holiday Monday's).We enjoyed our visit overall.

I found this place to be most interesting and I certainly am pleased that I have visitedI particularly enjoyed the complementary guided walk around the exterior of the castle. The guide gave an interesting talk about the history of the castle and pointed out some aspects of the building.I also found the guides in the castle to be most informative and happy to answer questions .There are so many interesting articles to view in the castle including a rather battered chair that was a favourite of Charles Dickens when he stayed thereI also enjoyed walking around the extensive grounds that includes both wild and more formal areas.