Information & Season Tickets

February 2011

Once again it is the time of year to send out the annual newsletter for season ticket holders and inform you of developments taking place at Bentley.

Last year was almost a mirror image of the previous year with visitor numbers remaining constant. It seems a long time ago now but last Spring was one of the coldest and longest in living memory with frosts and east winds continuing into the third week of May. This had an impact on visitor numbers early on but also resulted in the wildfowl being totally confused not knowing when to display and nest. Consequently the wildfowl breeding results were relatively poor apart from the swans which for some strange reason did well. Luckily the weather improved after this and although not a hot summer the rain held off most days so visitor numbers were well up for this period.

Season Ticket numbers were also up for the year and we hope this trend continues. The feedback from members is that it is still perceived as good value. Some members visit at least twice a week through the main season, but it is worth remembering that you only need to visit Bentley three times or more to make it worthwhile. Furthermore it allows entry into all events at Bentley other than NatureFest, which again takes place over the second May Bank Holiday weekend.

The extension to our miniature railway is steaming ahead and the first phase will be ready for Easter. It should be finished this year and will be a great asset to the rest of the attraction. A lot of work is being carried out to the willow tunnels with many more elements being added to the existing tunnels which will be ready for Easter. The gardens continue to be improved with more under planting and development work being carried out. The intention is to re-create the gardens on the theme of the 1960’s plans set up by the late Jim Russell a very prominent gardener/landscaper of Castle Howard. In the late Autumn thousands of bulbs have been planted around the estate especially on the second part of the driveway and they should make a good show in this and future years.

There has been a significant turn around of cars in the Motor Museum over the last few months. This has given an opportunity to please many owners of very special cars who have been waiting patiently over the last few years to loan us their cars. We are lucky to have possibly the earliest known petrol car ever made which may controversially precede the Benz of 1884 (thought to be the first). The car is called a De Bonnet originating from a Chateau in France which we believe is still owned by the family. You can see a lot of different elements incorporated into the design of the car from gas, steam and of course horse drawn carriages!

We do hope that you will take a season ticket this year and an application form is enclosed. We need to continue to use photos as a means of ID but we can rescan photos provided last year so will not need further copies of these. New season tickets should be available for collection from the shop on your next visit.

Thank you for your past support and we hope to see you soon.

Barry Sutherland and Chris Keep

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