Right it's a nice day out but the house tour was far to short 5 rooms and you was out.You could do the whole thing on YouTube and save money.The shop was a lot of over priced tat. But the garden's we could have spent HRS walking around. How the tour guide was very good The ladies at the ticket sales fixed us out by getting us on a bus.The bus driver was very knowledgeable.And the guy who checked the ticket's was very helpful.But as I said the house tour was just far too short. It was simply the way in, plus a room between the sitting room and dining room and a small way out room.oh the long room with two chairs and a very expensive painting lol.

An afternoon out that exceeded our expectations. right from the get go the thoughtfully laid out and landscaped car park leading to a beautiful entrance area really impressed.. upon entering the initial building (which is open to the public) you are greeted by a very attractive well appointed café with lovely outdoor and indoor seating, attentive staff, quality food and coffee, made having lunch here a real treat all on its own! Of course bringing food with you is an option, but allowing some time and some spends for the café would be my recommendation.. The ticket desk and gift shop themselves where a continuation of this impressive high quality environment with friendly staff eager to assist and advise you of things to do and price options for the house tour and Gardens etc, I would say prices relative to other paid attractions of this type are not to offensive at all, considering that this truly does feel like you are getting to spend time in a sprawling private royal oasis.. Perhaps abit of a strange one but I do not feel like I would be doing this review justice if I didn't mention the toilet/bathroom facilities, they are well placed, everywhere you would need them, and they made me feel self conscious about my own bathroom at home! so posh, clean, comfortable, you almost feel fortunate when you need to use them haha, Sorry I was just so impressed with everything about my day here.. Now for a couple of not so amazing points to round things out. The gift shop is exceptionally expensive: Perhaps I am coming at this from the perspective of somebody who is not particularly well off, that being said I don't usually struggle to pick up a treat from a gift shop, but on this occasion I had to go home empty handed, of course you can get bits of chocolate and other cheaper nik-naks etc but I imagine any items of use or ornament will sit there utterly dependant upon care free retirees or Americans paying a visit, perhaps even prince Charlie himself!.. Lastly is the lack of a more comprehensive play area for smaller children: look I get it, slapping a big adventure playground in the middle of the place could completely ruin the vibe, and their is an excellent playground in the forest Park across the way. but plenty will come bringing bored boisterous young children, and once a commitment has been made via ticket purchasing to stick purely to a day in the grounds a well placed proper play area at a safe distance from everything else would be a more than useful addition. And that about wraps things up apart from my absolute final suggestion: If you are even thinking about a visit, please do and make it soon, it is much more impressive and has more to offer than you perhaps imagine.

Amazing visit and tour of the castle and gardens. Loved the history and the amazing photos inside. You can’t take photos inside the castle but took some great ones of the outside and the amazing gardens. Staff giving the tour were fantastic and knowledgeable and truly appreciated what they have here in Northern Ireland.

Amazing place, great gardens, and a great walk around the castle grounds. Restaurant was fantastic and all the facilities were spotless. We had to cut our walk short because the heavens opened but could definitely wall around the grounds for hours. Staff were extremely welcoming and friendly too.

Sorry to say that I was a bit underwhelmed. Maybe it was the time of the year, but the gardens were quite unkept, especially the back patio. No pictures allowed inside so I don’t have those to share. A very understated castle (was built as a home, not a castle)

We only went to the garden and we walked a lot! There was so many stuff but I liked the experience.

Beautiful gardens. Lovely walks, which are very well signposted. Nice, café, and, of course, a souvenir shop, which sells lots of Royal themed items. Everywhere is spotlessly clean and very well maintained. After all, it is a Royal Palace! There is plenty of free parking. Staff are friendly, helpful and informative.

Really great garden and castle. The garden is a nice mix between a natural garden and a planned one. The kids had fun with the bunny hunt.

Came here in Autumn. A beautiful place to visit, with very nice walks and interesting things for kids to look out for. The castle is still closed due to covid restrictions.

First time visiting here for their Halloween scarecrow walk. It was very well put together with scarecrows of various characters, such as Harry Potter and Wonder Woman, along the route. There were also areas with entertainers, ones who did tricks, others who played music among others. Suitable for children of all ages as nothing too scary. Lots of pretty lights along route too. An enjoyable evening.

Attended a wedding here. What a day! Beautiful surroundings. The staff were absolutely wonderful. Nothing was too much trouble. Very welcoming and friendly. The hospitality was second to none.

Really enjoyed our visit, we did the house and garden tour, very knowledgeable man took us on the tour of the house and a lovely walk afterwards in the garden followed by tea and scones from the cafe.

We did a tour of the castle and gardens. The tour was very interesting and informative. It is well worth a visit.

Visited during the Christmas period and did the snowman walk. Even during the wintertime the gardens are beautiful and the children loved "map reading" and "finding" all the snowmen. Did the light trails the year prior and can 100% reccomend. Absolutely brilliant. Will be returning in the summer to see the gardens in their full bloom. Cafe also had plenty of options available.

Beautiful gardens, much larger than expected. Friendly staff from arrival in the car park to leaving. Events held to mark occasions all year round. Lovely gift shop and restaurant at start before Walled Garden. Café at Stables too. Tours of Castle can be purchased or separate garden ticket.

Great walks with interesting wildlife and things to see. Direction signs aren't especially helpful so expect to get a bit lost. Castle tickets seem to be sold separately but we accidentally joined a tour without them!

An interesting ruin in a picturesque forest and lake environment. Lovely walks, fishing in the lake. Coffee shops, on the main street, close by, for food, drinks, and bathrooms

We visited on 6th of May 2023, coincidentally the Coronation day of King Charles III. There were a Coronation party and screening with a lot of people. The Garden is good, beautiful and large. The Royal Residence is great, well maintained, and is still used for many political occasions.

What a beautiful "home" great tour but not allowed to take photos inside. Garden unbelievable easy to get lost. Glad we came.

Another Palace chalked off the list they do get better the more you see took best part of 4 hours to view the gardens alone and 1 hour to view the internal rooms as part of the guided tour taken around by a very knowledgeable lady (Liz)

Arrived without booking. Had to wait for availability of a castle tour but this worked out well as it gave time to explore the gardens and ground's and the outside of the building. Actually this was good to do before the house tour. The guide was enthusiastic and related events to specific parts of the house. Enjoyable, highly recommended.

We had a great day in the gardens. The scenery is lovely and we got some great photos. They had an event on for the jubilee and the tickets were reasonable. The entertainment was excellent but they could have done with another ice-cream van, the queue was really big.

We were here for coronation weekend. Tour around the castle was very interesting. Atmosphere for the garden party was great, lots of people having fun, nice amount of things to do and food trucks if you forgot your picnic. We enjoyed the music on both days and the 21 gun salute on coronation day.

Prompt arrival for your tour is advised. Car park to castle entrance is a good 20 min walk. However there is people carrier for those that need assistance. No pets allowed. The tour was very informative and interesting. Not allowed to touch or take pictures. King Charles and queen Camilla had visited the day before and signed the guest book. Tour was about 50mins. Staff very friendly. Gardens were lovely. Trainers recommended if you really want to explore - it's 100 acres. Highly recommend a visit which took about 3.5hours.

Such a wonderful, magical place to visit. I'd been meaning to visit Hillsborough for a few years, but never got around to it. I'm so glad we were finally able to go. The gardens are just stunning (we didn't do the castle tour), and we spent a happy few hours just sitting on the benches and taking it all in. My mum needed help getting from the entrance to the main house and gardens, and a mini bus was duly called upon to run us up there. The staff member who drove us couldn't have been more friendly or helpful-even telling us to give him a call when we were ready, so he could pick us up again. All the staff we met were lovely, and it made the day more special chatting to them. We will definitely be returning-hopefully bringing the amazing summer's day weather we had today, with us again!

You can't take pics of inside since it's a living residence, really interesting, bit you don't see much (a dinning hall, entrance, ballroom, meeting room, and sitting area). No kitchen area or bedrooms or anything personal. Gardens are beautiful and huge.

Absolutely stunning gardens at Hillsborough Castle! Had the pleasure of visiting for the Honey Festival on the 7th of August and was amazed at how beautiful the grounds were. We didn't visit the Castle, but definitely plan to. It is a little expensive, but after seeing the gardens, I feel that it is worth it.

Love how the walled garden is always evolving so there is always new things to explore. The whole place has really come alive with lost of little things for kids to explore. A hidden swing, some echo tubes, a wildflower meadow. We visited during the Honey Fair and the kids loved the story telling tent and the great selection of local food stalls and crafts.

This was a fantastic day out!! The staff were so helpful and friendly and really made the whole experience. We did a tour of the castle and they told us so many secrets about the castle and how it was decorated and used. We loved the walled garden and the fact that produce from the gardens is used in the cafe. We had a lovely lunch, pulled pork and chips, ordering was fast and efficient and the cafe was very COVID secure. Toilets were available and had recently been cleaned. Car parking is excellent!! All in all a fantastic day out and felt so safe and respected.

Absolutely brilliant day out, informative and enjoyable tour of the house followed by a lovely afternoon of wandering in the gardens and enjoying food in the cafe .

An nice visit to view the Christmas lights in the Gardens on a cold December evening. Parking was plentiful and well organised. The staff were friendly and it felt COVID safe because at no time were there too many people walking around together at the same time. The illuminations were also nicely displayed. Overall this was a pleasant but pricey treat for Christmas.

Lovely place had a coffee in its café then had a walk in its walled garden n lost garden. The place is a gem its peaceful but noisy. The noise is from the birds or the the stream at the lost garden. You can just hear the cars on the main road but wen you sit under one of the trees you lose time n yourself in the atmosphere. We didn't go upto the castle this time as I can't walk far but hopefully next time.