Leighton Hall

We visited for a hall tour in early September 2020. We were greeted by one of the ladies who lives in the house which was a lovely touch. The tour covers the history of the house and the family who still live there. It has some stunning pieces of furniture. The dining room and the sitting room were particular favourites in that regard. We also visited some of the woodland and gardens along with the caterpillar maze. We were also lucky enough to see the bird of prey display with a barn owl, Harris hawk and falcon. We were there for about 2 to 2.5 hours on total and felt very welcome. We even had time to have coffee and cake in the garden which was lovely. Everything was also very covid secure. Thanks to all for a lovely afternoon.

We have just finished a day at Leighton Hall, and God what a day it was. In the last seven years we have probably been to 100 – 150 castles and homes open to the public. We have never had such a personal, honest and enjoyable experience. We had the tour guide Mary, who was very knowledge and a lot of fun. She took us round the house and explained how through the ages the fortunes and setbacks of the owners changed the structure and belongings of the occupancy. Mary is a great tour guide and by half way through, the tour. All visitors were talking and discussing the belongings and building. Mary had us sitting at the dinner table the Gillows would have sat at and even opening furniture within the house, something which is normally unheard-of within houses.

The art may not compare to the Rothschild’s or the Percy’s, but the knowledgeable tour guides and interactive experience was second to none. The intimate sized tours give a personal touch and a feeling of traveling through the ages with the Gillow family.

The walled garden and orchard give a realist, impressive view of how the gardeners would have provided for the Gillow family during the tenure, due to the limestone geography. The gardens are well manured for the size of the home.
I could write another ten paragraphs about the house, staff and experience but would rather say this is a hidden gem and something not to be missed. We live in Lancaster and had been planning to come here for ten years. Needles to say we will be back within the next two months.

We attended the car rally this weekend as a family and really enjoyed the show, the cafe was reasonably priced and the ladies were very friendly. The gardens were lovely and the bug gardens and maze were fun. BUT and this is absolutely no reflection on the estate, but the only food stall at the event was selling hot dogs and mini burgers for £11.50, yes, you read that correctly, £11.50. WOW, we could not believe it, people complaining. I think this needs looking at for future events, in comparison, the estate was selling, sandwich, crisps, cake and coffee for under £10 , well done ladies we will be back, but we won't buy food from the concession.

Pam gave us an excellent guided tour of some of the rooms on the ground floor. She was very knowable and made the tour interesting, especially opening 2 of the cabinets so we could see inside. Lovely gardens. We then watched birds of prey being flown with another very interesting commentary.. An excellent afternoon visit.

I have just had a wonderful afternoon here with my 9 year old son. We started with a tour of the beautiful hall led by the current owner, Mrs Reynolds. It was very light hearted and informative and there was a real homely feel - it did not feel at all stuffy and all the guests were made to feel very welcome, including the children. We then moved on to a brilliant bird of prey display where the birds flew very close to the audience which was great. We had a walk/play around the beautiful garden and maze and finished off with a lovely cup of tea and cake in the tea room.

I really recommend this place for a relaxing afternoon out. I enjoyed it as did my son - it was very child friendly where they were invited to touch various bits, sit down wherever, play on the grass and generally have fun (it's not a look but don't touch sort of place). It is in a truly stunning location too.

Thank you so much to all the team.

Visited as part of Heritage week and had a very enjoyable day. Warm greeting by lady of the House and our guide Pam gave a very informative tour with just the right amount of information. Really felt like a home rather than a fossilised building. We were encouraged to sit on the furniture and enjoy and appreciate the wonderful chairs, dining table fire screen etc and the skilled craftsmanship. The bird of prey display also very enjoyable and wonderful views of the Lakeland fells.

3 generations of family. We had a great time, fabulous gardens. Quaint tearoom and one of the best bird of prey flying displays we have ever seen, knowledgeable and humorous. We will certainly return. Highlights included investigating under the minibeasts boards and logs where we found toads and lizards, the Caterpillar maze and the birds of prey. Lovely friendly staff.

Visited on a day of mixed weather in July. House has a warm lived in feeling and the staff were very welcoming. The main part of the house is Georgian ,with the rather strange addition of a Victorian frontage. A very enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide give an interesting tour of about one hour. Lots of family memorabilia to view. No photography inside was permitted. Good tea room in the old kitchens in the basement. Added bonus of birds of prey demonstration later on in the afternoon. Well worth a visit to view a well kept country house .

This was my second visit to Leighton hall the first in 2019 and despite the restrictions due to the virus the hall is still enchanting as ever. The gardens are beautiful and I could see that a lot of work had taken place since my last visit. The owner is a lovely guide and she loves the hall you can tell. There is a lovely homely tea room with nice cakes and scones. All the staff safe very helpful and nothing too much trouble and ready to answer your questions. This was my friends first visit and I hope we can return when we can go upstairs. Please visit you won't regret it.

We had a brilliant experience here from the moment we were greeted by one of the owners Suzie, always a nice touch, who pointed us to the simply beautiful gardens and the tea room which was greatwe ate outside on the lawn, which was lovely. The house, latterly owned by Gillows of Lancaster furniture fame, was fascinating with lots of its history and that of the families who lived here explained to us on our tour. You wouldn't find a more splendid but friendly room than the drawing room which has amazing views over the garden to the start of the Lakes. I loved it. And, as a bonus, there was a free wild bird display. I have seen a few of these but this was by far the best. The lady keeper of the birds was both informative and great fun, and it was quite exciting that she allowed the birds to fly and settle amongst us. The countryside around is wonderful to drive through. All in all an exceptional experience. I can't wait to go back. Everything was 5 star.