Ripley Castle has been the home of the Ingilby family for twenty-six generations and Sir Thomas and Lady Ingilby, together with their five children, continue the tradition. The guided tours are amusing and informative, following the lives and loves of one family for 700 years and how they have been affected by events in English history. The Old Tower dates from 1555 and houses splendid armour, books, panelling and a Priest’s Secret Hiding Place, together with fine paintings, china, furnishings and chandeliers collected by the family over the centuries. The extensive Victorian Walled Gardens have been transformed and are a colourful delight through every season. In the Spring you can appreciate 150,000 flowering bulbs which create a blaze of colour through the woodland walks, and also the National Hyacinth Collection whose scent is breathtaking. The restored Hot Houses have an extensive tropical plant collection, and in the Kitchen Gardens you can see an extensive collection of rare vegetables from the Henry Doubleday Research Association. Ripley village on the Castle’s doorstep is a model estate village with individual charming shops, an art gallery, delicatessen and Farmyard Museum.