The Greystoke Castle Estate covers 3,000 acres lying some 5 miles to the west of Penrith on the edge of the Lake District National Park. The area was traditionally a sporting estate and deer park, rising to almost 1,300 feet above sea level and offers stunning views of the Lake District and North Pennines.

Greystoke Castle Estate prides itself on its wildlife conservation policies and encourages a healthy balance of sporting opportunities within a protected environment. A love of both nature and the landscape is very much part of the Estate ethos. Our responsible approach to land management is working well, preserving the value of this precious landscape in a balance with a need to generate the income to maintain it. We take every effort to minimise the impact of the commercial shoot activities and manage the woodlands to European standards to enhance still further the wildlife and bird habitats.

The Estate sporting rights are leased to Steve Pymm who organises shooting parties and deer stalking for both individuals and small groups during the season. Steve has been involved in game keeping and deer stalking for over 20 years; is a member of the British Deer Society and the National Game Keepers Organisation and is licensed to inspect game prior to it entering the food chain. He believes passionately that game should be given its rightful place as a quality food, seasonally available and traceable to it’s point of origin.

At Greystoke, the emphasis is on shooting a wide range of quality game and not on the volume of the bag. It appeals to people who want a challenging sporting day surrounded by great scenery with the knowledge that the resulting game is inspected, transported, stored and prepared to the highest standard.

There are three main areas of focus; roe deer stalking, duck and geese flighting and game bird shooting. These are offered separately or in combination. Many of our guests come for a mix of walked up and driven pheasant, partridge, snipe and woodcock with the addition of a duck and geese flight on one of our ponds (the largest, Gillcambon, runs to several acres and at 1,200 feet, with spectacular views of the Lakeland Fells, is quite an experience at dawn or dusk).

The history of the Castle and Estate can be traced back to 1069, when Llyulph de Greystoke was re-granted his land by the Normans following their conquest and built a wooden tower surrounded by a peel. Eighteen generations of de Greystoke lived in it until 1346 when King Edward 3 granted permission to castellate the building and the Castle proper was created.

Anne Dacre inherited the Castle and Lands, married Thomas Howard the 4th Duke of Norfolk in 1571. He had been sent north to solve the Scottish problem. Not only did Anne marry Thomas but her 3 daughters married his 3 sons!

The Castle was held for the King during the civil war and was destroyed by Cromwell in 1660. It lied fallow for about a generation and then was rebuilt as a country house to a design by Salvin. At this point the Castle was enlarged and much work done to the Estate.

A fire largely destroyed the Castle in 1868 but it was rebuilt by Henry Howard using labour and materials from within the Estate

Greystoke Castle is the private home of the Howard family with 14 generations having lived their for over 500 years

Diary of events at Greystoke Castle Estates

September 1st Partridge Shooting Commences
September 1st Duck & Goose Shooting Commences
October 1st Pheasant & Woodcock Shooting Commences
October 31st Roe Buck Season Ends
November 1st Roe Doe Season Commences