Lizzi Armitstead, silver medalist, is Ambassador for the Festival of Cycling

Harewood House is proud to be the Official Ceremonial Start of the Le Tour de France. To celebrate this historic occasion, the Yorkshire Festival of Cycling will bring together thousands of cycling fans, spectators and families to watch Le Grand Depart, enjoy family entertainment and great live music.

• Enjoy the best seats in Yorkshire to watch Le Grand Depart
• Watch the first stages of the Tour on big screens
• Enjoy live music
• See the Red Arrows
• Explore two film pods
• Watch live theatre
• Experience Electric Pedal Cycle Cinema
• Let loose in our family activity zones
• Bump into our wandering entertainers
• Race in the Kiddimoto carting for kids
• Try the 2 acre Army assault course
• Not forgetting the Street Velodrome, KMX Karting, BMZ Flatland and Display Demos and more!

Visit www.festivalofcycling.org for full details.

For your chance to WIN 4 day tickets to the Festival of Cycling on the 5th and 6th July enter our competition by hitting the “tweet” button:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Harewood hosts the Dare2B Yorkshire Festival of Cycling in July.

Do you tweet, like, share or pin? Whatever your preference, if you’re into social media there are three great ways to stay in touch with all things Harewood. Facebook, Twitter and now Pinterest are filled with content to keep you entertained and up to date.

Share your Harewood experiences with us, we love to hear from you. Don’t be shy! Get involved and join the conversation.

First year the Great British Food Festival will be at Harewood

Get out this May Bank Holiday weekend to the Great British Food Festival at the stunning Harewood House.

On May 24-26th the stunning estate at Harewood House hosts the Great British Food Festival. The recipe for the weekend; well take over 80 top local producers, a big serving of stunning hot food, real ale and wine bars, add a dash of craft and gift stalls, lots of activities and rides for the kids, top chef demos from the likes of ‘This Morning’s’ Marcus Bean and past ‘Yorkshire Chef of the Year’ Stephanie Moon, stir in a cake competition and the popular Men V’s Food challenge, and finally add lashings of excellent live music and mix together to make a lovely foodie day out for all the family.

The main chef demo area has great local chefs handing out tips and cooking up some tasty dishes to inspire you to try at home. All demos are free (as part of your admission ticket) to enter so everyone can join the audience and brush up on their culinary skills. Event Organiser, Daniel Maycock said ‘It’s a great mix of demos, from bakers to gourmet food – Marcus is great with the crowd but I’m also looking forward to seeing the best of the local talent, come along I’m sure they’ll impress you!’
The Great British Food Festival has attracted lots of producers showcasing the best in local, seasonal and speciality food and drink. It’s a great opportunity to get a real taste of the best of Yorkshire and Great British produce – sample, enjoy and buy. ‘With Great Britain’s amazing mix of cultures and cuisines we thought it would be a shame to overlook some more exotic elements – so you can try Ostrich burgers, Jerk Chicken and ‘Crazy Wendy’s’ Thai food as well as pulled pork, prime steak, and the best local burgers and sausages, for those with more traditional tastes!’ said Daniel.

After you’ve had your fill of tasty food you can go and do your foodie shopping, for tasty bits for that next meal at home or take the kids to bouncy castle or ‘Kiddy Cook’ lessons, or why not just sit out with a refreshing drink (or two), and enjoy the great live music in the stunning surroundings?!

The perfect recipe for a fun, foodie day out for the whole family.

Harewood has a pair of African Grey Crane birds for visitors to see

During the winter months our Keepers were hard at work preparing the Bird Garden for the year ahead. Each aviary has been revamped with perching, ground cover and nest boxes, to provide suitable breeding environments. Many of the ducks prefer open grass and woodchip to dabble for insects, whereas the Laughing Thrushes and Wood Rails like the security of shrubs and trees for cover. Some of our single birds have been paired up with mates. The Red Crested Turacos, our African Grey Crowned Crane and the Nene Geese have all been found new companions. The incubation and rearing rooms housed in the Bird Garden have been given a spring clean ready for the breeding season. The first chicks likely to hatch are the small Pekins chicks which you will be able to visit in the Information Centre. When fully grown, these birds will be used as foster mothers, to hatch eggs and rear chicks for other species in the Bird Garden.

Some of these birds have been at Harewood since 1969

The Chilean Flamingos have undergone a health check looking for any problems. Some of the flock were  originally brought to Harewood in 1969. These older birds require a little more attention. Our experienced vet inspects their feet in particular. We keep a close eye out for age related issues such as arthritis, hip and eye problems. Whilst in the Bird Garden please also spare some time to look at our indigenous wildlife through the new vistas we have created across the lake. Join us in the Bird Garden to learn more about our nesting birds and plans for 2014.

Whatever the time of year, the Lakeside Garden provides beautiful views for visitors to enjoy

We have had a very busy ‘winter’ in the grounds and gardens, implementing a plan of practical improvements, which will enhance the quality of our visitor experience. Through a closer working relationship with the Estate, the gardens’ staff have ventured beyond the gardens to contribute to a wider remit of landscape restoration and conservation. As well as restorative works around the Church and to the main approach to the House, much attention has been focussed on the lakeside gardens, where the redressing of overgrown shrubberies has reopened old vistas across the lake, as well as creating new ones. The Himalayan Garden has been transformed over the past few months in a similar fashion and the area has been cleared of dense vegetation, so as to reveal the underlying contours and structure of this attractive garden.

We are currently working behind-the-scenes on the planning of new summer bedding schemes for the Terrace, to coincide with the arrival of Le Tour de France in July, as well as some impressive new   planting in the borders. In the Walled Garden, much has been done to improve the standards of upkeep in the kitchen garden, where a whole range of modern and heritage vegetables will be grown side-by-side throughout the coming season. Come and visit the Gardens and Grounds to discover more.