In the morning, a private visit to Castle Howard led by the curator. Castle Howard is one of the most important and dramatic Baroque country houses in England, the result of a collaboration between the great architects, Vanbrugh and Hawksmoor, and has splendid contents. After coffee, we explore part of the magnificent landscape park designed by Vanbrugh, one of the earliest landscape parks in Britain, with views to Hawksmoor’s powerfully evocative mausoleum to the Carlisle family. In the afternoon we visit Palladian Hovingham Hall, a fascinating house designed by the owner Sir Thomas Worsley c.1750. Worsley, a friend of George III, had a passion for architecture and horses, and Hovingham, with its magnificently vaulted Riding School is a fusion of these two interests. The house also has a fine collection of paintings and furniture reflecting many aspects of 18th century taste.