Accessibility Statement:- Boar's Head Ripley - An Access Consultant's Viewpoint:- At the Boars Head, staff are encouraged to wear a smile and make all guests feel welcome- and it shows. As an access consultant, I look for the enjoyment of a hospitality business by all, including those with disabilities, not making unsightly alterations that only draw attention to disabled people, and detract from the nature of the operation that attracted the visitor. With a character property such as this, and appointments and furnishings that are sympathetic, and add to the comfort and ambience, everyone wishes to enjoy the experience. The intrinsic characteristics of the property design and layout restrict major alterations, but subtle yet important adaptations have been achieved here. Several key staff have attended Welcome All training, so that they are not daunted by disabilities, and can recognise the right amount of assistance to be offered to disabled customers, as an integral part of customer service. I may be a guest in the letting bedrooms, as a business delegate, or wedding/function guest at the nearby Ripley Castle, or just taking a leisure break. As a resident or visitor, I could be in the lounges or main dining room, or having lunch in the bar. When approaching the hotel at the front, this is over a cobbled square, over which I could find some discomfort as an ambulant disabled person, but there is only one step into the main entrance. For a wheelchair user, there is a firmer surfaced, level car park to the rear, from where level access can be gained into the main hotel reception, bar restaurant and the annexe bedrooms adjoining. There is one marked disabled access car parking space. The rear access to the bar restaurant is by way of narrow double doors, but are always wedged open, to allow sufficient width of access for a wheelchair user. Checking in is very informal, with a low desk and adjoining chairs, and whilst there is no sound induction loop, this is a comparatively quiet area for hearing. As a resident, I have choice of bedrooms on the first floor of the main hotel, or in the rear annexe, or in Birchwood House, just across the village street. With my limited mobility, I could manage the wide stairs in the main hotel, although the wide moulded handrail on the original feature balustrade is a little difficult to grip for a person with a small hand or limited dexterity, and there is no other handrail. The stairs have firmly fitted carpets, are well lit but there are no colour identified step nosings. The first floor bedrooms are spacious, but do not have any special adaptations. Alternatively, I could take one of the ground floor bedrooms in the annexe, that are on a level access, a little smaller, with a choice of en suite shower or bath, with hand grips and easy to handle cross top taps. The other option is Birchwood House which has its own car park to the rear, and a single step into the ground floor, where the bedrooms are particularly spacious, and have en suite bathroom, one with a free standing roll top bath. I may need help in and out of that, but the layout of the rooms is such that an assisted wheelchair user could also be comfortably accommodated here. The only downside is the route across the road to the hotel. One ground floor bedroom in the annexe is designed as a bedroom suitable for an independent wheelchair user, with level access, good width doors, suitable turning circle space. As with all the bedrooms, there are twinnable zipper beds that can create more space, and an en suite bathroom, with reasonable circulation space, for access to the bath, with grab rails and shower over. There is an assistive grab rail behind the bath. Each of the bedrooms has a larger, clear button telephone. To assist people with a hearing impairment, there can be available by request, in any of the bedrooms, a wireless sound induction loop system for the television, and a pillow vibrator alarm. The ground floor of the hotel is compactly arranged, with short journeys between public rooms, but with good width doors for wheelchair access, with the exception of a slightly tricky turn into the bar restaurant. The two very comfortable lounge have clusters of seating, discreetly offering a choice of types and height of seats with arms. It is here that staff take meal orders and can assess a guest's personal needs, enabling re-arrangement of the dining room table layout for a wheelchair user. The menu is available in large print, and staff are happy to read out the menu, or take time in these relaxed surroundings to communicate with a hearing impaired person. The bar restaurant has an accessible arrangement of tables, with some chairs with arms, space for wheelchairs and there is a waiter service. The hotel dining room has plenty of space between and around tables, again having chairs with arms. The ground floor has a disabled access toilet, with good circulation space for a wheelchair user to front or side transfer. In conclusion, access features are not text book, but discreetly blend in well with the hotel's character, without spoiling the charm and comfort, and quality that attract everyone to the hotel.

Tariff Rates for 2008. Come and enjoy all that Yorkshire has to offer with a special Yorkshire Break, taken any day of the week (min two night stay) excluding town conference weeks and Christmas and New Year. A Yorkshire Break includes accommodation in one of the delightful Courtyard rooms, full Yorkshire Breakfast in the Restaurant or Continental Breakfast in your Room, your choice of Morning Newspaper, Dinner in the Restaurant and home made chocolates. 85.00 per person per night (Single supplement 20.00 per night). Dogs are welcome at Ripley providing they bring with them well trained owners! A turndown Bonio is placed in their basket, and water bowls are provided. Dogs are charged at 10.00 per day. Well behaved children accompanied by their parents are welcome at The Boar's Head. We offer a special menu in the Bistro which is available each evening and we have plenty of games and videos. Children up to the age of 15, sharing parents room are charged at 20.00 each day to include breakfast. As our restaurant is so popular, we suggest you pre-book your table prior to arrival. Christmas and New Year: We always enjoy special celebrations at this time of year. Please ask our reception team for more details.

A Tour of the Castle:- Guided tours start at the Castle Front doors on the hour from 11.00am to 3.00pm and take approximately 1hr 15mins to circulate the seven rooms that are on display. The castle and gardens are open to the public all year round and make a really interesting and entertaining day out. There is ample free parking in the very pleasant car park at the southern edge of the village, and from there it is a very short walk through the market square to the castle entrance, which can be found in the Castle Gift Shop. Toilet facilities (including disabled and baby changing) are available at the car park and at the Gift Shop on arrival. We have gone to a lot of trouble to ensure that the tours are as interesting for children as they are for adults. All our guides have a well-developed sense of humour: they need it, working here! In the Dining Room you will see the portraits of recent generations of the Ingilby family and of the five lucky children who live in the castle today. The Round Drawing Room features a set of beautifully embroidered Chippendale style chairs and settees and for the best views of the lakes and parkland, look out of any of the windows in the Large Drawing Room. The guide will tell you how one Sir John Ingilby lost his dogs while touring Europe, and another rebuilt a large part of the castle but lost his wife. The Library is the first room in the Tudor tower or keep, and it was here that 'Trooper' Jane Ingilby held Oliver Cromwell at gunpoint. You will be able to look at the 17th century recipe book written by Elizabeth Eden, the castle's Head Housekeeper in the 1680's. You will hear how Sir William nearly got disinherited after losing the family's fortune to the rebels. Poor Sir William: he was so ugly that he had to use a dating agency in order to find a wife! The Tower Room features a fine ceiling, erected in just four days prior to a visit by king James I. The floor started life as the deck of a British man o'war. You will learn how the Ingilbys found themselves heavily implicated in the Gunpowder Plot to kill the king and blow up Parliament, and how they only escaped when the trial collapsed. The final room of the tour, the Knight's Chamber, is also the most spectacular. Here you willsee the remarkable 16th Century oak ceiling and panelling and the priest's secret hiding hole, discovered purely by chance in 1964. This room also contains a remarkable collection of arms and armour, collected from both sides of the English civil war battlefield. On exceptionally busy days guided tours may give way to room attendants, but the 40 page illustrated guide book is very clearly written and will make sure that you don't miss anything. Once you have seen the castle you can wander out into the gardens and grounds (see. ) or go for a cup of tea in the Castle Tearooms. To discover more about some of the many other great stately homes, castles, gardens and abbeys that you can visit in Yorkshire, visit: www.castlesandgardens.co.uk www.yorkshirevisitor.com. the official site of the Yorkshire Tourist Board, provides useful information about other visitor attractions, events and accommodation in the region. To learn more about Britain's many castles visit www.castles-of-britain.com

News Special Events. Grand Summer Sale 2008:- The ever popular Grand Summer Sale is taking place from 05th - 08th June inclusive. Magic of ABBA and Utter Madness concert:- Sprite Productions perform Twelfth Night:- Spring into Summer Offer:- Dinner, Bed Breakfast only 60.00 per person in the much acclaimed Boar's Head. Stay in the magnificent surroundingsof 700 year old Ripley Castle and enjoy all that Yorkshire has to offer with our fantastic Spring into Summer Offer which can be taken any day of the week (subject to availability). A Summer Evening of Musical Entertainment:- Book now for a Summer's Evening of Musical Entertainment on Saturday 5th July. Enjoy a glass of Pimms on arrival in the circular courtyard followed by a BBQ buffet whilst listening to the soft delights of the Eugene Farrar Jazz Band. Party at Halloween in historic surroundings:- What better place to celebrate Halloween than a 700 year old castle steeped in history. Book your place now for our fantastic Halloween Party which is being held on Friday 31st October. Hold your Christmas Party at Ripley Castle:- We are holding seven Christmas Party Nights in December in the magnificent East Wing of the castle - Friday 12th, Saturday 13th, Wednesday 17th, Thursday 18th, Friday 19th, Monday 22nd and Tuesday 23rd December. SILVER FOR CASTLE IN NATIONAL AWARDS:- Ripley Castle has won a Silver Award in VisitBritain's Enjoy England Awards for Excellence 2007 in the category 'Small Visitor Attraction of the Year' (under 100,000 visitors). RIPLEY CASTLE WINS BEST VISITOR ATTRACTION AWARD:- Ripley Castle was announced the winner of the prestigious White Rose Awards 2006 for Best Visitor Attraction of the Year 2006 at an Awards Ceremony held at Magna Science Adventure Centre on Tuesday 19th September. Sir Thomas Pitches for Yorkshire:- During a very successful promotional tour of the US, Sir Thomas Ingilby of Ripley Castle near Harrogate, was given the tremendous honour of pitching the first ball to a crowd of over 6,000 people at a Baseball match in Philadelphia. Gold Award for Ripley Castle Gardens:- Two members of the Ripley Castle Estate staff have been presented with Long Service Awards. Brian James and Ken Swales have dedicated over seventy five years between them to the Estate. Long Service Awards for Ripley Staff:- Dinner, Bed Breakfast only 60.00 per person in the much acclaimed Boar's Head. Stay in the magnificent surroundings of 700 year old Ripley Castle and enjoy all that Yorkshire has to offer with our fantastic Spring into Summer Offer which can be taken any day of the week (subject to availability). Cooking up a Treat at Ripley:- Yorkshire's Great Houses. Behind the Scenes by Sir Thomas Ingilby:- For Sale from 9th March Sir Thomas Ingilby, whose family have lived at Ripley Castle for nearly 700 years, has enjoyed unprecedented access to Yorkshire's great houses, going behind the scenes to discover what daily life is like for both staff and owners. Ripley Castle voted one of the best stately homes in the country:-