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Chronicle Live
National
Daniel Hall

Northumberland home to one of the UK's favourite stately homes - and it reopens next Friday

For many, Alnwick Castle is Hogwarts in the Harry Potter films or Brancaster Castle in Downton Abbey.

However, for the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland and their four children, it's their home, and has been of their family for 700 years.

It's also the second largest inhabited castle in the UK and has now been voted one of the UK's favourite stately homes.

Read more: Condé Nast Traveller names the 10 best beaches near Newcastle

A survey by holidaycottages.co.uk saw users choosing their favourites from 24 stately homes across the UK, with Alnwick Castle coming in at 6th, after receiving 15 per cent of the vote.

While it is in fact much more than a stately home (it houses the Fusiliers Museum and Castle Museum), the castle's magnificent state rooms are open to the public and are an essential part of any visit. There are six rooms: the lower and upper guard chambers, the library which houses nearly 15,000 books, the drawing room, the dining room and the china gallery.

Shannon Keary of holiydaycottages.co.uk, said: "Britain is home to some spectacular stately homes and castles which are perfect for the family to explore at any time of year.

"They’re enriched with culture and history whilst being beautiful sights to see and often masses of grounds to explore, which makes them the perfect places to visit while on a staycation year-round!"

The full list of the favourite stately homes in the UK is as follows.

1. Chatsworth House, Derbyshire

2. Windsor Castle, Windsor

3. Bleinheim Palace, Oxfordshire

4. Kensington Palace, London

5. Longleat House, Wiltshire

6. Alnwick Castle, Northumberland

Alnwick Castle is temporarily closed but will reopen to the public on March 25. Find out more information on the Alnwick Castle website.

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