A Year at Leeds Castle…

When I visit beautiful Leeds Castle I always wonder how many other people enjoy this spectacular castle too, I have questions in my head such as how many fireworks are included in their annual show?  Or, how many signets are living in their grounds?

Leeds Castle always raises questions and I am pleased to say that below, we have Leeds Castle’s figures for 2016 to sate such curiosity…

2016 at Leeds Castle.

• 605,730 day visitors to Leeds Castle from January to December 2016

• £154,786 raised for charities from local schools and churches to community food banks and scout groups from 258 tickets available for raffles

• 79,269 day visitors in December 2016 – the Castle’s biggest Christmas ever

• Over 3,500 bubble guns and 2,500 bottles of Mead sold in the Castle shops

• 25,000 star bursts filled the sky at the Leeds Castle Fireworks Spectacular

• 20,000 stems of flowers and foliage, 158 different types of flowers and 50 different types of foliage were used to create displays for our Festival of Flowers

• 11,810 overnight guests in holiday cottages, bed and breakfast accommodation and Glamping

• Over 10,000 people attended the 38th year of the Classical Concert

• 9,730 plants added to the gardens

• Over 400 schools participated in workshops and self-guided tours

• 231 golf season ticket holders

• 200 names and messages projected onto the Castle walls over the two days of the Leeds Castle Fireworks Spectacular for the #nameonthecastle campaign

• 40 golfers took part in a Pro Am golfing event in June

• 30 Christmas trees ranging from 6ft to 25ft

• 25 limited edition bears have found new homes from children sharing the same names, wedding day gifts from grooms to their brides, one now looks out of a bedroom window over Dover, one is part of the Leeds Castle collection, one is owned by Royalty

• Over 25 special ticketed, day visitor and charity events ranging from Fireworks Spectacular to Opera in the Castle

• 25 heritage preservation projects within the Castle and around the estate ranging from the Bath House silt removal to Castle stonework repairs to refurbishment of the Maze Grotto water feature

• 20 tonnes of green compost deposited on the gardens for essential nutrients during the winter

• Over 20 location hire, film crews and photographers from shoots ranging from Visit Britain Go China! Campaign to BBC1’s Bargain Hunt and historical documentaries.

• 16 Christmas parties

• 6 new birds of prey including two kookaburras which were bred by our falconry team

• 11 black swans hatched

• 4 awards including; ‘Venue & Business Tourism Silver Award’ at the Beautiful South Awards, ‘Spirit of Kent’ Digital Award,’Gold’ at RHS Hampton Court Flower Show and Visit Kent’s ‘Contribution to Tourism in the County Award’

• 2 feature films filmed on the estate with over 200 crew

• 1 shiny new website

• 1 Royal visit from our Patron, Princess Alexandra