An Elizabethan mansion, seat of the 7th Marquess of Northampton with a combination of 18th and 19th century garden styles. A mature arboretum shelters a charming Italian garden with formal ponds, terracotta vases and topiary. The arboretum contains some superb mature trees, especially the layering horse chestnut and the weeping beech. The gardens are renowned for their native wild flowers and a wide range of flowering bulbs. Much thought and money has recently been spent on restoring the gardens at Castle Ashby. The Italian formal gardens were among the first to be renewed, and the arboretum has been restocked. There are stylish terraces, an orangery and greenhouses built by Sir Matthew Digby Wyatt in the 1860s, but perhaps the best thing about Castle Ashby is the park – 200 acres of it, designed by ‘Capability’ Brown.