As lockdown restrictions in the UK ease, Eastnor Castle reopened its grounds on Saturday 30 May 2020 for the first time since closing in March.
It has implemented various safety measures, such as limiting visitor numbers to 10 per cent of its usual capacity, selling tickets online only and introducing one-way systems within the grounds. It has also installed extra hand sanitiser stations and added signage to help people social distance when queueing for ice creams.
Management at the castle described its reopening weekend a success and will continue to open the grounds and gardens on Saturdays and Sundays until the end of June 2020, with reduced ticket prices to reflect the current limitations.
General manager of Eastnor Castle, David Littlewood, said: ‘We’re delighted we were able to re-open parts of our grounds at the weekend for visitors and it was great to see so many of them enjoying a day out. It’s been a particularly challenging time for us, alongside the whole tourism sector, as we’ve had to remain closed during the main part of our busy season.
‘Typically, we’ve had some lovely weather during lockdown too which would have bought lots of visitors here. Normally by the beginning of June we would have welcomed 25,000 visitors to Eastnor Castle so to have missed all of those is devastating as we won’t be able to make those visitor numbers up again in the coming months before we close for the season at the end of September.
‘We’ve all seen the photos of crowded beaches and beauty spots over the last few weeks so I think our visitors enjoyed the space in our 100 acres of grounds. We have limited ticket numbers to just 10 per cent of our maximum capacity so it’s never going to feel overcrowded.
‘It’s a shame we’re not able to open the castle, maze and playgrounds at the moment but we’re hoping we can add more to our offering over the coming weeks as the restrictions are lifted. Although our Tea Room also remains closed, our ice cream parlour was open at the weekend and did particularly well.’
For more information, and to book tickets, visit eastnorcastle.com.
