We had long fancied a day out at Ripley Castle, ever since my parents visited and raved about the historic house and gardens.

Our trip took place on a baking-hot day and when we arrived, the picturesque village – itself a tourist attraction – was swarming with people. If I’m honest, it was a bit off-putting, but when we passed through the sunny courtyard into the castle grounds, it was a different world.

As we walked towards a terrace, the lake came into view, with cows grazing on meadows beyond. It was beautiful, and, crucially, peaceful.

The 700-year-old castle near Harrogate has been in the Ingilby family for 26 generations, and makes them one of the oldest families in the country to still be in the same residence.

The castle’s colourful, and sometimes gruesome, history is well-documented. If walls could talk, they would tell tales of kings and queens, religious persecution, civil war and plagues, eccentric ancestors and ghosts.

We had the chance to take a tour of the house, but due to the fine weather, we opted to walk around the grounds.

A short stroll brought us to the walled gardens where we admired the flower borders, alive with bees. The kitchen gardens contain rare collections of herbs and spices, fruit trees and vegetables. As usual, it was hard to move on, with my husband keen to compare the garden produce with his own efforts at home.

In April and May, the gardens contain the National Hyacinth Collection which creates a fabulous palette of colours and fragrances.

Next, we explored the hothouses, home to a tropical plant collection rescued in the early-1990s from the Hull Botanic Gardens which were closing down. We loved the charm of it, with artefacts collected from the garden dotted about and gardeners’ tea mugs – all well-used – hanging on the whitewashed walls.

The hothouses were renovated in 1991 and contain a huge variety of cacti, ferns and tropical plants including citrus, begonias and bananas. In the middle is an orangery-cum-palm house, crowned by a roof of curved glass.

Emerging from the humid buildings, we strolled to the woodland walk, with its lofty trees and cool glades. A rope walk set high in the branches caught the eyes of my daughters. Introduced this year, the Logheights activity is available to book for individuals, groups or corporate events.

Later, beside the lake, we met a Bradford couple fishing. They pointed out bream spawning close to the water’s edge.

The lake borders the deer park, where we walked, and saw cows and rabbits, but sadly no deer.

We didn’t have time for a guided tour of the castle, but pledged to join one next time. There are also special tours for children aged between five and 13. Visitors to Ripley village cannot miss the many wild boar symbols dotted about. In the cobbled square stands the Boar’s Head Hotel, and a magnificent stone boar sculpture in the middle of the village acts as a water fountain.

The boar is the Ingilby family crest, which was awarded in the 12th century after a legendary act.

Sir Thomas Ingilby (1310-1369) accompanied Edward lll on a hunting trip to the royal hunting forest of Knaresborough in 1357. The king found a wild boar and threw his spear, but only injured it.

The creature charged the king’s horse and the king was thrown to the ground. Thomas killed the boar, saving the king’s life.

He was knighted, granted the boar’s head emblem as his family crest and given the right to hold a weekly market and annual horse fair in Ripley, which continued to be held until the 1900s.

The village was built after Sir William Amcotts Ingilby visited France in the 1830s and was inspired by a model estate village.

The village stocks attract hordes of giggling children, and no visit would be complete without sampling Ripley’s world-famous ice cream. My daughters loved their cones, and ate them slowly before getting soaked as they attempted to fill their water bottles at the drinking fountain.

We had a great day out, and if the interior of the castle is half as nice as the grounds, we will have plenty to look forward to on our next visit.