The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Get ready for Hide and Secrets
Burghley House is set to reveal a new look alongside its usual packed calendar of events for the 2023 season. One of England’s greatest Elizabethan houses, built over 500 years ago by William Cecil, Elizabeth I’s most trusted minister and chief spymaster, will offer visitors a few new surprises, as well as well as an opportunity to enjoy the spectacular building filled with nationally important historic collections set in landscaped parkland, when it reopens on March 18.
Burghley will again host family favourites from House and Garden tours, Easter Egg Hunts and seasonal Fine Food Markets, to summer music concerts, the famous Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials and Spooky Tours.
But for 2023, part of the Estate’s grounds will open to the public for the first time after being transformed into a woodland adventure play attraction, called Hide and Secrets, which will open on April 29. Themed around William Cecil as the country’s first chief spymaster, youngsters will be able to complete their own top-secret missions – discovering hidden wooden mole carvings, and a spot of cypher code breaking.
Featuring a new Burghley character, Cecil the Mole, and a series of imaginatively landscaped play zones leading to the Hidden Towers with slides and a rope bridge, the attraction which has been designed with accessibility in mind - will also have a separate toddler area and a refreshment cabin called The Muddy Mole.
Also new for 2023 will be an accessible, all-weather car park, which will increase parking capacity. Remaining free of parking fees, it will have electric vehicle charging points and an area for coaches.
Among the line-up of exhibition and events will be the annual Treasury Exhibition, which this year focuses on Flora and Fauna at Burghley, featuring items from the Burghley Collections, not normally on view, that depict and celebrate the beauty of Nature. While the sweeping parkland is open daily free of charge throughout the year, the two formal gardens – the Tudor inspired ‘trick’ Garden of Surprises and the Sculpture Garden - re-open alongside the House on March 18.
Across the Estate, event highlights include the Beastly Boring Tours, fun tours for children with costumed guides available every school holiday throughout the year, along with the Burghley Easter Egg Hunt on Easter Sunday (April 9). and a celebration local food and drink producers at Fine Food Markets in Spring (April 1-2) and Summer ( August 26-28).
New for 2023, is a chance for a spot of Star Gazing (March 22/23) offered during two special evening talks from the Peterborough Astronomy Club.
For a summer spectacle, the House will be the magnificent backdrop for the 18th annual Battle Proms Picnic Concert, a celebration with music, fireworks, spitfire, cannons, and cavalry (July 8). For those who prefer to party the night away to classic anthems under the stars in a family friendly environment, Classic Ibiza also returns (July 29). The House will provide a suitably stately backdrop for what is widely regarded as the world’s largest gathering of Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars (June 23-25), along with the popular TVR Car Club rally (April 2). And a different sort of horsepower will again provide a global showcase for the House and parkland as Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials, regarded as the world's greatest 5-star equestrian event, returns (August 31 to September 3).
And the year ends with autumn favourites, the Burghley Halloween Trail (October 14-29) along with Spooky Tours, featuring torch-lit tours and haunting hidden history (October 18-28), before festive fun and seasonal shopping take over for the Burghley Christmas Fair (November 23-26).