This month Grantham’s Belvoir Castle opened for business for a new season, after a hectic few months maintaining & restoring the Castle and preparing for the imminent influx of visitors. We met The Duchess of Rutland, Emma Manners to find out a little more about her plans for keeping families entertained this season at one of Lincolnshire’s finest country estates…

Most of us bemoan the coming of Spring and the necessary maintenance of the house and garden ritualised in a frenzy of Spring Cleaning activity around Easter. However, spare a thought for the 11th Duchess of Rutland, whose Spring is rather busier than that of most folk – both in terms of housework and workload!

The Duchess’ year is neatly divided into Spring & Summer and Autumn & Winter periods and upon our visit just before Easter when the property was due to open, the whole castle was a bustle of activity amid the transition from tourist season planning to 2008’s visitor attraction par excellence.

A farmer’s daughter, originally from Wales and skilled interior designer, the Duchess has always been forward thinking and dynamic in her promotion of the castle as an attraction, but this year, she and her team have really pushed the boat out with a programme of particularly inventive events featuring names such as Katherine Jenkins and McFly, plus a host of re-enactment events and country crafts.

“It’s a little strange to some people but the cake splits quite evenly into two pieces.” Says Emma. “Throughout the winter months we complete most of the work on the estate and on the fabric of the building. We’re custodians of the castle and it’s a constant responsibility to ensure that the building is kept in the best possible condition. We also have regular corporate shooting and countryside events throughout the winter, and quite a few winter weddings… in the colder months we’re a sort of upmarket B&B!”

From September right up until to March, when the castle opens, and during a season of passionate restoration, conservation and specialised cleaning by a team of volunteers, the Duchess’ additional responsibilities include creating a programme of events, and holding regular management meetings to ensure the creation of an estate which involves the whole community and hosts events encompassing everything from country sports and countryside management to