Raby Castle’s lifestyle destination celebrates increase in visitors one year on
1st July 2025
A major restoration and redevelopment project at Raby Castle, Park and Gardens has celebrated its first birthday this month as well as an increase in yearly visitors.
Following the opening of the ambitious scheme, Raby Castle, Park and Gardens has welcomed over 300,000 visitors in its first year and seen a 71 percent increase in visitor numbers from June 2024 to June 2025 compared to the previous year, which is a welcome boost for the region. Whilst group tour visits to the historic destination, home to one of England’s finest medieval castles, are also up 26 percent in the same period.
Providing a stunning lifestyle destination for the local community and visitors from far and wide, the extensive development was the largest and most significant for generations at the 14th century family home of Lord and Lady Barnard.
‘The Rising’ project, which created over 50 permanent jobs, included the remodelling of the 300-year-old Walled Gardens with designs created by renowned garden designer Luciano Giubbilei, the sympathetic addition of two impressive new buildings including the 200-seater The Vinery Cafe, a new retail space and exhibition housed inside an 18th century Coach House, alongside the Dutch Barn and Riding School restorations which have since hosted events, product launches, conferences and artisan markets.
Claire Jones, head of leisure and tourism at Raby Estates, said: “It’s wonderful to see that our lifestyle destination has welcomed a significant increase in visitor numbers as more people, no matter their age or interests, enjoy the endearing charm of Raby Castle with our wealth of history, beautiful gardens, the Plotters’ Forest woodland adventure playground and more. We’re hopeful this has also translated into even more people exploring the wider County Durham area too.”
The latest tourism figures released by Visit County Durham, the county’s Destination Management Organisation and Durham County Council’s tourism service, demonstrate that the region has seen a seven percent increase in visitors from 2023 to 2024 and noted Raby’s transformation as an example of one of the significant levels of investment in the county’s visitor offer which has helped to drive this continued growth.
Duncan Peake, CEO at Raby Estates and chair at Visit County Durham said: “The recent figures are a promising sign for the county, especially as the number of day visitors are now 7.6% higher than pre pandemic figures.
“When designing the Rising scheme, we were aware that creating our lifestyle destination would also have a positive impact on the wider economy in the region, and to see such an encouraging uplift over the last year is incredibly reassuring. Everyone at Raby is pleased to be recognised as one of the new and enhanced visitor attractions that have played a major part in the region’s latest success.”
Raby Castle’s The Glittering North event, which was hosted throughout the redesigned castle grounds, is an example of the attraction’s commitment to encourage visitors and tourism to the area. A celebration of the region’s Norse and Viking heritage and the first event of its kind to the region, The Glittering North attracted over 14,000 visitors and 47 percent of these were from outside of the local region.
In recognition of the impressive development, Raby Castle, Park and Gardens has also received numerous accolades. Raby recently retained the VisitEngland accreditation of a quality attraction, achieving a score of 94% during a recent assessment, and will now be nominated for the prestigious VisitEngland ‘Gold’ accolade.
In 2025, Raby Castle was also invited to become the eleventh member of the Treasure Houses of England, a small group of the country’s finest houses, palaces and castles, dedicated to bringing their history and collections to a wider audience.
Since opening, Raby’s Walled Gardens, as well as the wider landscape and extensive public areas, recently achieved second place in the highly prestigious 2025 European Garden Awards. The gardens have also been nominated for the Historic Houses 2025 Garden of the Year Award, with public voting closing in August.
During the development’s first year, Raby has partnered with well-known international brands to expand its offering, including Bamford, Neptune, Boodles and Daylesford, with these major brands featuring in Raby’s new retail spaces during permanent or pop-up sessions. The new spaces also enable Raby to work closely with local suppliers, including Yorkshire-based Brymor Dairy which supplies ice cream for the newly opened Garage Café.
For more information about Raby Castle, Park and Gardens, please visit: www.raby.co.uk/raby-castle