COMPETITORS will be running, swimming and cycling their way around Castle Howard in an event expected to draw thousands of people to Ryedale.

The Castle Howard Triathlon is one of four events being held at castles this year by Telemark Productions. The others are at Cholmondeley Castle, Cheshire, Chateau Chantilly, in Picardy, France, and Hever Castle, in Kent.

Using the stately home’s lake and tracks, up to 1,000 competitors are expected at the event, on July 24 and 25, and as many as 2,000 spectators.

The event will also be used to raise money for Help For Heroes and the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Simon Howard, chairman of Castle Howard Estate Ltd, said: “We’re delighted to be teaming up with Telemark Productions and Help For Heroes to host our first triathlon on the estate. We look forward to building the event for the future as part of the wider Castle Triathlon Series and hope this is the first triathlon of many to take place in our beautiful and unique setting.”

The triathlon is not just open to experienced athletes. There are courses to suit everyone, from children through to corporate teams and those who take their sport seriously.

The shortest course, which is designed for eight to ten-year-olds, will involve a 100m swim, five-kilometre bicycle ride and a 1.3-kilometre run.

The longest involves an 800m swim, 46-kilometre ride and ten-kilometre run. At Castle Howard all races, including the children’s races, start with an open water swim in the Great Lake, landing on the North Lawn, before then heading out on to the famous tree-lined avenue and a cycle ride circumnavigating the villages of Slingsby, Hovingham and Terrington in the Howardian Hills.

It culminates in a run that meanders through the estate grounds, finishing with competitors sprinting across the main lawn to the finish in front of Castle Howard itself.

For more information or to book a place on the triathlon, visit castletriathlonseries.co.uk