Appleby Castle hosts corporate meetings, client entertaining, private dinners and weddings for up to 100 day guests, with 12 bedrooms and three cottages on site. The castle is a four-star castle hotel in Appleby-in-Westmorland, in the Eden Valley of Cumbria, a short drive from Ullswater and the northern Lake District.
Seminars and company events
Two large halls each take about 80 people, and several smaller rooms with connecting doors work for breakout sessions. A meeting can end with dinner in the 15th-century dining room and an overnight stay in the castle, which suits leadership retreats and client events. The estate also hosts shooting parties, and the River Eden, where the castle holds private fishing rights, runs through the grounds.
Weddings and receptions
A wedding coordinator plans each wedding, from two people to more than 100 guests. Three formats are offered. An elopement holds the ceremony in the Hall or the Morning Room, followed by dinner and a night in the Russel Suite. An intimate wedding uses the Shepherd's Room for the ceremony and the Old Great Hall for a wedding breakfast for 20, with bed and breakfast for eight and the Old Great Hall and Tavern for the evening. The exclusive format takes up to 100 day guests, with a choice of ceremony rooms, drinks in the inner bailey, the Old Great Hall and gardens, exclusive use of the Great Hall for the wedding breakfast, and the Old Great Hall with its adjoining bar for the evening. Parking takes more than 100 cars.
Rooms and capacities
The Great Hall and the Old Great Hall each hold about 80 for meetings and up to 90 together for a group dinner. The 15th-century dining room is usually set for couples but can be arranged for a large group. Two 17th-century private dining rooms seat 6 (Oak 4) and 10 (Oak 5). The Shepherd's Room, the Hall and the Morning Room are used for ceremonies. There is no wheelchair access inside the castle.
Accommodation
The castle has 12 individually styled period bedrooms, including the Clifford, Thanet, Evidence, Hothfield, State, Atkinson, Vipont, Tufton, De Morville and Sackville rooms and the Russel and Le Meschin suites. Three self-contained cottages in the inner bailey, named Coleridge, Wordsworth and Nightingale, add space for families or a wedding party.
Catering
The castle runs its own restaurant in the 15th-century dining room, lined with 17th-century oak paneling and warmed by a log burner, often with live piano. It serves an à la carte menu and a five-course tasting menu, opens to non-residents when space allows, and caters for group functions in the halls and private dining rooms.
History and setting
A Roman signal station once watched the ford over the Eden here. Norman lords raised a motte-and-bailey castle from 1092, and a first stone keep was probably built by 1120. The keep, now home to The Norman Centre, is one of only three complete Norman keeps in the country. The castle passed through Scottish and English kings and the Clifford family, and its best-known resident was Lady Anne Clifford. The grounds cover 27 acres of gardens where red squirrels are regularly seen.
Getting there
The castle is in Appleby-in-Westmorland, a short drive from Ullswater. Appleby has a railway station on the Settle to Carlisle line.
