An Outdoor Christmas at Harewood House

This year has been a trying time for all of us, unable to see friends and family or do any of the things we usually do. Here in the UK we have just finished a second lockdown and have entered a tier system that means we are coming to terms with the fact that Christmas won’t be celebrated in the normal way. Pubs and Christmas markets remain closed, no Christmas parties and still unable to mix with extended family, it’s been hard to get into the Christmas spirit. Thankfully I was contacted by the team at Harewood House near Leeds to see if I wanted to check out their Christmas offerings. Usually you can visit inside the house and grounds at Christmas to see it all done up in it’s festive best. However due to tier 3 categorisation, the house remains closed, and instead, I got to explore the grounds and see what they have to offer.

Despite Harewood House only being a 30-minute drive from my parents home in Barnsley I’d never been before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. When we drove around to the front of the house I was surprised to find the front of the house wrapped in a large red bow like the worlds biggest Christmas present! Already I was amazed at the details. When walking closer to the building I found there were amazing wreaths on the doors and I even sneaked a peek at the stunning floor to ceiling Christmas trees inside, it looked magical!

Speaking of which this whole place is an Instagrammers dream! There are photo opportunities everywhere and they’ve really gone all out to create some great areas to get a fantastic family snap of you and your loved ones. I particularly loved the sleigh with the house in the background for a gorgeous scene and the haybales turned into parcels!

The walled garden around the back of Harewood House itself is filled with Christmas trees and golden festoons. The view from this garden over the land and lakes beyond is simply stunning. I loved walking through here imagining I was a lady of the manor from days gone by! Inside the manor, you can still visit the Christmas gift shop which is full of gorgeous gift ideas and Christmas decorations!

We visited on a weekend which meant we were lucky enough to be able to attend the small Christmas market in the courtyard. This operates under a timed entry to ensure social distance is adhered to and consists of many stalls from local producers. It was nice to have the ability to shop local and we picked up a few gifts for friends and family. There were more shops in the surrounding building and places to buy food if you want to grab a bite to eat or even a hot chocolate or two. While currently you are unable to eat indoors currently there are covered places set out so you can hide from the rain if needs be (this is British Wintertime after all!)

In this same area, there is also a bird garden which features over 40 species of birds from around the world (including penguins!) and a farm experience to be enjoyed. Sadly we couldn’t visit these parts as we’d brought my parent’s dog with us (dogs are allowed everywhere apart from these two areas as long as they remain on leads). If you have little ones there is also an adventure playground for them to let loose on which looks like a ton of fun.

Once the sun had gone we decided to explore the festoon lit festive lakeside walk, which looked beautiful under the golden glow. I loved how the lights reflected off the water of the lake, it really did feel magical. At the end of the trail, we ended up at the Boothby teahouse and took the chance to toast some giant marshmallows over the open fire here. It was my mums first time trying this and she loved the experience, they tasted incredible! Such a perfect Christmas treat.

Overall the experience was the perfect way to get into the Christmas spirit, and there was so much more to see here then I expected. The team really have gone all out! It’s great for a family trip or to get some festive snaps, we’ve already talked about coming next year when the house is hopefully reopened and again in the summer to explore the 10’000 acres further. Tickets to the out outdoor Christmas at Harewood House event start from £11 for adults (£10 if booked online) and £6.50 for children (£5 if booked online) and family tickets are available. Make sure you book via their website as they are selling fast and numbers are limited.