Yorkshire: Castle Howard

No adventure in England is complete without a visit to a castle.  While this wasn't a castle in the truest sense of the word, it was called Castle, so I'm counting it.  It was built during the early 1700s, so the building is practically a baby as far as European buildings go.

The lake in the front.  The white specks are dozens of swans.  They must have been big swans to show up from this far away.  Please pardon the haze - it's a hazard of sunny days.

Cool carnival set in the valley below the house.  It reminded me of Mary Poppins.

The boar statue in the Boar Garden.  I know . . . it's everyone's dream to have this in their yard.

There was an impressive china display, but this one was hard to believe.  Seriously?  Who wants a rat on their plate?

Looking up into the dome.  It was pretty cool!

A view of the entire "castle" from the south garden.  Pretty impressive.

The Atlas Fountain.  Eventually, I'm going to find a working fountain in Europe.

Temple of the Four Winds.  While I appreciate the architectural interest that these buildings add to the landscape, why can't they just be "pavilions" or something?

Another view of the house.

View of the dome from the entrance.  We just missed the peak daffodils.  Bummer!  It was still pretty impressive without them.