Newby Hall and Gardens

Newby Hall gives a family a full day out in one place. There is a Robert Adam country house, gardens that run in long borders down to the River Ure, an adventure garden for children and a miniature railway along the riverbank. It sits about four miles from Ripon, so it pairs easily with the city.

The house dates from the 1690s and was enlarged and remodelled by John Carr and then Robert Adam, who decorated its interiors from 1767. Adam's Statue Gallery, two square rooms around a rotunda, holds Roman sculpture from the first century BC to the second century AD. The Tapestry Room still has the Gobelins tapestries, The Loves of the Gods after designs by Boucher, that William Weddell ordered in Paris in 1763, and the estate says it is the only complete set still in the room it was made for. Thomas Chippendale made the sofas and chairs for that room, and they keep their original covers.

The estate is closed for the winter and reopens on 25 March 2027, so this is a page for planning spring and summer.

From Tea Time Cafe at 87 Market Place, the drive is about 14 miles and around 30 minutes. Take the A61 to Ripon, then the B6265 Boroughbridge Road, and follow the brown tourist signs to Newby. The estate's directions also give it as four miles from the A1(M), signed from junction 48 coming from the south and junction 49 from the north. Put HG4 5AJ into the sat nav, which brings you to the top of the drive; the estate office postcode, HG4 5AE, is less useful for arriving.

The main visitor car park is gravel, with Blue Badge spaces next to the ticket office. Plan on the car for this one; the estate is signed from the A1(M) as well as from Ripon.

Book a house tour slot with your ticket and build the day around it. Tours last an hour, take a maximum of 20 people and cover the ground and first floors, including the Statue Gallery and the Tapestry Room. Then take the gardens, which open at 10.30am, starting with the long double borders that run from the house down to the river.

The miniature railway is a 10 1/4 inch gauge line beside the Ure. Rides take about 12 minutes and run every 30 minutes from 11am to 4.30pm, at 3 a ride with under-2s free. Children will want plenty of time in the Adventure Garden. The restaurant serves from 10.30am to 4.30pm, with hot food between 12 and 2, and the gift shop opens from 12 to 5.30pm. For a longer walk, the Woodland Walk heads off on rougher tracks.

The Statue Gallery is the room people come for. Adam designed it as a Roman-style interior for sculpture, and it still holds mainly Roman statuary, with a few 18th century copies among it. The Tapestry Room is the other: the Gobelins set, the Chippendale furniture made to go with it, and the original upholstery all together in the room they were made for. Outside, the long borders down to the Ure are the classic Newby view, and the miniature railway along the river is the part younger children remember.

Book online before you go. The estate says it is the cheapest way in, and house tours are capped at 20 a session and can be unavailable on wedding and event days, so secure a tour time when you buy the ticket. Hot food is served only between 12 and 2, so eat early or bring a picnic for the picnic area. Leave the dog at home if you can; dogs are kept out of the gardens and woodland, with only a small exercise area by the picnic site. Avoid the week of 13 to 19 September 2027, when the gardens close for the Harrogate Autumn Flower Show. In term time the estate is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays apart from bank holidays, so check the day before you set off.