Begin your visit by viewing the exhibition at the Riding House, then let your imagination run free in the extensive grounds (and fun play area).

SMALL CASTLE

Sir William Cavendish, a playboy, poet, and courtier, built the Little Castle as an opulent getaway. It was an edifice built to surprise and delight, with medieval-style turrets and towers. Even royalty visited, as Sir William spent £15,000 on feasts and entertainment for King Charles I and his Queen Henrietta Maria in 1634. The maze of luxurious chambers, brilliantly preserved and elegantly restored, will delight your senses with richly coloured wall art, carved marble fireplaces, and breathtaking painted ceilings.

TERRACE RANGE TERRACE RANGE TERRACE RANGE

Sir William also built the enormous Terrace Range that overlooks the Vale of Scarsdale. This once-noble range of stately chambers that comprised the entry to Bolsover Castle is now a spectacular roofless shell. Make use of your multi-media guide to relive the enormous dining room, long gallery, and basement kitchen that once stood here.

FOUNTAIN GARDEN

The Fountain Garden was designed around the statue of Venus – goddess of love and pleasure – emerging from her bath. It included a secluded chamber for intimate banquets set into the garden wall.  With re-glazed original windows and new hand-carved doors, we have opened this room to the public for the first time.

Wander the gardens and enjoy the 5,000 plants and flowers we have planted to capture the spirit of the garden in its heyday. Fan-trained fruit trees and colourful planting around the walls are all lovingly tended by our volunteer gardeners.

Garden fashion in the 17th century included ‘outlandish’ foreign bulbs such as tulips, and for special occasions, fanciful designs cut into turf and filled with colourful gravels.

WALK THE WALL

For the first time in nearly 250 years, you can walk along the freshly repaired wall walk of Bolsover Castle. You can parade up the Cavalier’s catwalk, like a Stuart courtier who wants to see and be seen, with breathtaking rural views and the fountain garden below. The garden’s circular walls continue all the way around it, providing panoramic views of the Bolsover Castle grounds and the Vale of Scarsdale. Bring your camera with you so you can get the ideal shot.

HORSEMANSHIP OF CAVALIER

Ride over to the wonderful indoor Riding School, which is regarded as one of the best in the country. It’s easy to envisage William Cavendish training his horses in their beautiful exercises here in the 1600s, thanks to the prominent white post.

William Cavendish, the future King Charles II’s riding trainer, constructed the Riding School and stables for the magnificent horses he bought from Turkey and North Africa.

One of our Cavalier Horsemanship displays, performed to evocative Baroque music, will bring the Riding School to life (weekends April to September). The riders are dressed in mediaeval garb, including frills, feathers, and high boots, and flawlessly display dressage manoeuvres.

TEAROOM TREATS: 

A cream tea from Bolsover Castle’s cafe
After a day of seeing the castle, relax in our great café and indulge in a delectable sandwich, a refreshing hot beverage, or a tantalising baked cake.

If the weather is nice, sit on a picnic seat or spread out your blanket in the castle grounds and have a relaxing lunch.

GET YOUR HAND ON IT

Inside the Little Castle, there are no ropes or obstacles, and all of the reproduction furnishings can be touched, sat on, and enjoyed.

Discover Bolsover’s secrets by opening 17th-century style ‘cabinets of curiosity,’ and learn how Sir William Cavendish utilised the castle for banqueting, relaxing, and partying.

Turn the wheels in our Riding House introductory display to learn fascinating information about Bolsover Castle, from its architecture to its people and politics.