Harewood House is situated in the heart of the Yorkshire countryside.  The village the entrance to the esate is in almost seems to be untouched by time.  Were it not for the traffic lights and streets, the houses would appear to be of another age.  And indeed Harewood House is a part of that past time.

Harewood House was built over 200 years ago by the Lascelles family and it has been the home of the family ever since.

The entrance to the tour of the house is the main doorway in the picture above and as soon as you enter the building, in the aptly named Entrance Hall, you are immediately welcomed by the staff and ready to begin your journey through the displayed rooms.

The Entrance Hall itself has on display some interesting pieces including a giant statue of Adam which takes the center stage.

The next room as we circle around the house is The Old Library, a room filled not only with books, but also busts, one of Mary, The Princess Royal who married into the family in 1922, paintings by Biagio Rebecca, and antique furniture including eight Chippendale chairs dating from the early 1770's.

Next is the China Room, a room which most of the stately homes seem to have, which displays some of the most beautiful sets of china including a lovely Marie-Antoinette tea service painted by le Guay in 1779.  Far too beautiful to ever be used.

The next room is Princess Mary's Dressing Room which like many of those in this house is a light and airy room and very beautiful.  There are four Coronation Chairs in this room, three from the Coronation of George VI and one from Elizabeth II's.  Apparently whoever was invited to sit on them at the ceremony is by custom allowed to keep them - interesting souvenier from the occasion.

The arms of the sixth Earl of Harewood and Princess Mary are also on display in this room.

Chippendale's work is seen throughout Harewood and is a very prominent feature in The East Bedroom which is the next room we see.

The Watercolour Rooms are next where there are some delightful paintings on display including several of Harewood House itself.

Lord Harewood's Sitting Room is the next room which again contains many paintings and a great view from the windows.

The Ante Room next door has a horse theme to it and the three equestrian paintings are the first things to catch your eye as you look around the room.  There are also some sketches and portraits of the family on display here too.

Next is the extremely lavish Princess Mary's Sitting Room which was originally designed as the State Bedroom.  Again the pictures on display are mainly portraits but also dominating the walls are Chippendale mirrors which were made for this particular room.

The Spanish Library is our next stop, a room that was originally the State Dressing Room.  Much larger than the first library this one has on display a large number of photographs on the centre table.

And after the Spanish Library comes The Library - three libraries (being a reader myself I loved this particular house for just having these :-)

The Yellow Drawing Room, as its name suggests is a yellow and golden themed room which contains more portraits and also more Chippendale mirrors.

Next comes The Gallery where there are more paintings to view, including portraits, landscapes and religiously themed masterpieces.  There are also books to view on the tables set out in The Gallery which give an interesting and informative look at the house and its occupants.

After you have seen your fill of The Gallery it is on to The Dining Room and then to The Music Room where one of the best features is the painted ceiling which is mirrored in the carpet on the floor.

After this you are back at the entrance and ready to take a look at the extensive grounds.

The Lakeside Walk is in glorious settings as you can see above, and on fine days there are often boat trips to be taken on the lake.

If you don't feel up to the walk which has some steep inclines you can always view the gardens on The Terrace, pictured above.  As you can see from the pictures of The Terrace, Harewood is presently undergoing restoration work.

There is also a separate entrance from The Terrace into the exhibition centre in the house.

You can also visit the Bird Garden if you are so inclined - I have no fondness for the creatures and decided to give this a miss but it does seem to be a popular attraction for many of the visitors.

Off of the Lakeside Walk you can visit The Dell, the waterfall of which is pictured below.

Further on the far side of the Lake you can visit the Spiral Meadow which is a large spiral of flowers which you can walk to the centre of.  I could not get a picture of all of it but it is certainly a long walk, 2 thirds of a mile if I remember correctly.

Again like many other places Harewood House has an adventure playground for the children who visit and also a garden centre for visitors to look in.

Pictured below is a final picture of Harewood, this time without the scaffolding covering part of the house - this picture is one of several postcards I picked up at the gift shop.  A delightful place to visit and thankfully the weather kept fine.