Haunted castle is an idyllic getaway spot

THE jaw dropped as our taxi drove into the beautiful parklands of Lumley Castle.

The grand, quadrangular stone castle loomed overhead on a sunny March day as we came into an idyllic outer courtyard complete with a mini-garden and hedge archway.

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My wife Jennie and I went through the archway into reception and got our first taste of the County Durham castle’s grand, cavernous interior, where our cheerful host sent us to our room, deep inside.

In my ignorance, I hadn’t known much about the venue’s “haunted” reputation, but making our way to the room — the Queen Anne, Room 46 — the rickety, red-carpeted corridors, with old portraits on the walls, had a touch of pleasant spookiness.

Our abode was a stately revelation: a great four-poster bed; a huge, elevated bath; a welcome package of chocolates, red wine and a fruit plate; a disused stone fireplace from the olden days to add to the atmosphere.

But it was as we were settling down to eat in the elegant Knights Restaurant, that our friendly waitress dropped a bombshell on us.

She informed us Room 46 was at the heart of the castle’s paranormal lore. It’s where a 14th century noblewoman, Lilly of Lumley, is thought to have been murdered by monks.

Old Lilly has allegedly been sighted by many down the years, from staff members all the way through to ­the West Indies cricket team.

Naturally, my wife Jennie, a ghost enthusiast, was delighted, while I, a hard-nosed sceptic, was unmoved.

The food that night was certainly otherworldly. For starters, we both agreed that we’d never had better than the cheese souffle I wolfed down, or the decadent pâté de Campagne that Jennie enjoyed.

My main of fillet steak with peppercorn sauce melted in the mouth, and Jennie’s chicken dish with goose fat crackling was deliciously tender.

Lacking my sweet tooth that night, I had the stellar cheese board for dessert while Jennie chose a light and zingy lemon and pine nut mousse with lemon curd and sorbet. All in all, a fine dining feast.

After that, we retired to the luxurious Library Bar for cocktails, where I watched, astonished, as the barman assembled my “smoked old-fashioned” — encasing the drink in a glass cloche and blasting it with smoke via a blowtorch-like device. All done without setting off the fire alarm!

On day two, after delicious full English breakfasts general manager Gordon kindly arranged for us instead to be taken on a tour of the castle, followed by afternoon tea.

What we hadn’t banked on was being greeted by a man dressed in full Elizabethan garb — Mike, who we swiftly learned usually hosted the Elizabethan banquets the hotel hosts.

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We got the full lowdown on the castle and its grounds, from the manorly grandness of the function rooms on the first floor to the atmospheric cellars underground, set with a basement bar for guests enjoying themed nights like the banquets or the hotel’s popular murder mystery evenings.

Jennie and I let ourselves down on the final morning, embarking with cockiness on a Lilly of Lumley-themed Escape Room, another attraction at this establishment.

Assuming we’d crack it within 30 minutes and get to breakfast, instead the full hour lapsed, with the kind host telling us we were still some way off solving all the clues.

And our failure continues to irk… just another reason to go back to this castle from a bygone age.

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