![]() ![]() One of my first ventures was the 1981 Granada Television adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited. Like so many others, my determination to take advantage of extra free time during lockdown has mainly devolved into binge-watching TV shows that I have always wanted to see but never gotten around to. But really we are here to see Brideshead. ![]() Nominally we are here to see Castle Howard. Why am I here, in the brief lull between two UK lockdowns, looking up at this astonishing feat of British architecture? I suspect for the same reason as about fifty percent of my fellow visitors. But Castle Howard in full view surpasses all the rest. We have already passed some impressive sights on our way in: crenelated and turreted entrance gates, quaint former stable blocks now housing the obligatory ticket office/shop/café, and, bafflingly, a massive stone obelisk practically piercing the low-hanging clouds above the main drive. We round a corner and the rest of the house-it’s more like a palace, really-spreads out before us. Ahead of me, little groups of people bundled into anoraks and clutching umbrellas (this is Yorkshire, after all) amble towards it, craning their necks upward to catch a better view. ![]() The dome appears first, rearing up suddenly from behind a cluster of trees that are just beginning to edge towards gold. 75 years and several adaptations on, the lavish indulgence of 'Brideshead Revisited' still provides audiences with champagne-flavored escapism ![]()
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