Belvoir Castle with its magnificent views over the Vale of Belvoir has a long and chequered history, the present building is the fourth to have stood on this site since Norman times. The present castle was finished in the early 19th century after previous buildings suffered damage or complete destruction during the Wars of the Roses, the Civil War and a major fire in 1816. For over a thousand years Belvoir has been the ancestral home of the Duke and Duchess of Rutland, today it's the family home of the 11th Duke and Duchess and their five children. Photography within the castle is not permitted.

All photographs © David Packman

When Elizabeth the 5th Duchess commissioned James Wyatt to build the Castle in 1799 she undertook the design and landscaping of the gardens, park and grounds herself.

The view from the castle walls towards the village of Woolsthorpe By Belvoir.

The Castle's Rose Garden and Summer House.

Peacocks ~ A mother hen with two of its offspring.

Below the Castle is the Rose Garden created by Violet, wife of the 8th Duke of Rutland. The present Duchess is also passionate about the gardens and their ongoing development, but with only three gardeners as opposed to the forty working in Edwardian times the development and restoration is a slow process.            All photographs © David Packman