Castle in the Clouds & Brook Walk

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During the same trip where I visited Canterbury Shaker Village, I took a trip to Castle in the Clouds (formerly called Lucknow) and the nearby Brook Walk. Located in rural Moultonborough, New Hampshire, the overlooks from this area provide an unmatched view of nearby mountains, lakes, and rivers.

A panorama of the mountains of New Hampshire. 
A stone building with a red tiled room, a small garden, and white-and-black striped awnings over wide windows. A wooden pergola is behind the building. A stone wall behind a garden with lilies and other flowers. A green lawn near a dropoff guarded by a wooden fence with planters holding pink flowers. Far beyond the fence is a winding river and pale blue mountains A wooden tour with wide windows, a glass door, and a wooden balcony.

The Carriage House hosts a restaurant, bathrooms, and an exhibit gallery. The restaurant was never open during my visit. The bathroom is a tight squeeze; despite having a wheelchair accessible stall, I doubt a wheelchair could fit past the sinks. I was hoping to see the exhibit “The Shoes that Built the Castle”, a summary of mansion owner Thomas Plant’s manufacturing career, which was listed on the website. Unfortunately, the website was not up-to-date, and this exhibit was replaced by a shallow overview of women in the 20th century.

A view of a large building with a red tiled roof, as seen from across a paved parking lot and garden.

I had anticipated taking a trolley up the hill to see the mansion, but the trolleys were out of service on the day I visited. Instead, guests rode a cramped school bus up the hill. I chose to take the stairs going down the hill rather than riding the bus again.

A small yellow schoolbus with the words “FIRST STUDENT” on the side.

The Basement Tour is listed on the website as taking 45 minutes but barely took 30 minutes. A docent guides visitors through a cramped basement space with little signage. A successful tour of this space would take a solid script, strong voice, and group management skills, but the docent on the tour had none of these, instead treating the tour like an ongoing pop quiz. I recommend skipping this tour.

To the left is a stone wall about twenty-five feet high. In front is a stone building with glass windows spanning the length of the building. To the right is a short stone wall overlooking the tree-covered mountains.  A set of three white, porcelain sinks underneath a trio of wide, bright windows and on top a red tile floor A four-foot-tall gray, metal cylindrical machine in a closet. A golden and black label that reads in part “Stationary Clearners Tools & Accessories The United Electric Co. Canton, Ohio” A thick, metal, open door carved with decorative, organic designs A stone structure with three open doors built in front of a large stone building.

The Castle Tour begins with a brief video shown on a tiny screen. The rest of the tour is self-guided. Docents stand in many rooms, but most work as crowd control rather than guides. QR codes in the corner of signs link to a PDF version of the sign rather than an audio tour or additional information. These signs describe the life of Thomas Plant, his much younger wife Olive Dewey, and their ability to waste Plant’s fortune through a lavish lifestyle, questionable design choices, and bad investments.

A trio of carved wooden squirrels holding tiny acorns A sign describing the Pergola Squirrels, a set of wooden, painted gray squirrels originally found on the roof A stone fireplace with a wooden mantal and a tiny TV precariously perched on the edge of the mantal. A billiards table in the center of a room with a rustic style ceiling with exposed wood beams and a tile floor

The one highlight of the Castle are its beautiful stained glass windows. Plant spared no expense creating this often tasteless behemoth, but the inclusion of delicate flowers and lively animals displayed in the round, colorful windows was an excellent design choice.

A round stained glass window portraying purple irises A round stained glass window portraying a cluster of tiny violets. A round stained glass window portraying a tall tree on a clip against a sunset with streaky clouds. The window is half-hidden by a lace curtain. A round stained glass window portraying a tranquil lake near a purple mountain. The window is half-hidden by a lace curtain. A round stained glass window portraying a pink hydrangea and a pair of violets against a golden glow A round stained glass window portraying several roses and pansies against a golden glow A round stained glass window portraying bows of lilacs. A round stained glass window portraying pinkish-purple hydrangeas A round stained glass window portraying a buck prancing through a sunlight woods A round stained glass window portraying a pair of greyhounds A round stained glass window portraying a waterfall An oval shaped window with a glass pane attached at both sides and titled open to reveal the lawn and mountains below and the blue sky above.

The Castle does have a few other unique features. A “hidden room” off the library may have been a hiding spot for Thomas Plant but could also have been used for storing chairs. The Aeolian Player Organ in the main room was created specifically for the structure by the Aeolian Company of New York. Like the player pianos found at the New England Carousel Museum in Bristol, CT, the organ would play songs automatically at the push of a button. In the kitchen is a cast iron stove made by Cyrus Carpenter & Co. of Boston, similar to the stove found at Codman Estate in Lincoln, Massachusetts.

The face of a grandfather clock with golden numbers and filigree around the clockface. A gray, metal drainspout with an embossed oak leaf design The decorative pipes of a large organ lit by electric lights and built into a wooden frame. A sign titled “Aeolian Organ” describing the Lucknow's organ The embossed label of a cast iron stove reading CYRUS CARPENTER & CO. BOSTON A large black cast iron stove An old-fashioned freezer made of gray metal with many shelves A tiny open door revealing a tiny hidden room

If you want to live like the Plants, feel free to visit Castle in the Clouds. Entrance to the Castle costs $20 per person, plus an additional $5 for the basement tour. NEMA members should note that Castle in the Clouds does not honor reciprocal membership, despite their organization being listed on the NEMA website. Tickets can only be purchased at a booth onsite starting at 10:00 a.m. on the day of the visit, not a second sooner.

A pair of red and orange day lilies A simple round wooden dining room table surrounded by four matching chairs A black metal bread slicer and a wooden box with a round, white handle to open a door with the words 'BREAD CAKE' stenciled on the front White curtains with a blue floral design hung on either side of a tall window A sign describing the design of the Servants' Wing and the restoration of the wallpaper at Castle in the Clouds A rough wallpaper with a cream background with a blue tree pattern A tiny little cube shaped pink clock with chrome clockface and a matching handle on top A pair of twin beds with light pink duvets in a plain room with gray wallpaper, a gray ceiling, and darker gray carpet. A purple chair with an extra long seat to prop up the sitter's legs White porcelain Chinese vase with blue dragon designs A rib cage shower, with a tile flower and pipes holding water around the sides of the round shower capsule A view from a wooden porch with thick beams. Outside the porch is a branch of the stone house with red tiled rooves. A dress with long black sleeves, white ruffles, and a white apron worn by a headless mannequin. A bed with a white duvet and a wooden nightstand with a small lamp. A painting of a vase filled with flowers hangs on the wall over the bed. Another view from a wooden porch with thick beams. Outside the porch are leafy trees on the mountainside. An open room with paintings on the plain walls. A glass skylight floods the space with sunglight. A wooden staircase terminates in the middle of the wooden floor. A skylight with clear glass panes and golden glass panes

While the view from the Castle was beautiful, and the building had several nice features, the experience itself was a disappointment due to poor communication and a lack of customer service. I do not recommend visiting the Castle unless the venue is on your bucket list.


Abby Epplett’s Rating System

Experience: 3/10

Accessibility: 5/10



In contrast, the free to the public Brook Walk is a great hike for waterfall lovers. Managed by Lakes Region Conservation Trust, the walk takes hikers past seven waterfalls of various sizes. The walk itself has historical significance as a vacation area for the Boston elite in the mid to late 19th century, with one waterfall named after abolitionist poet John Greenleaf Whittier.

A short waterfall between rocky banks dropping into a deep pool of water. A white sign with a green header and white text reading BROOK WALK and the header #1 Roaring Falls with additional information and old photographs of the waterfall A pair of small waterfalls flowing over a rocky riverbed. A white sign with a green header and white text reading BROOK WALK and the header #2 Twin Falls with additional information and old photographs of the waterfall A small waterfall at the bottom of a ravine surrounded by trees and rocky shores. A white sign with a green header and white text reading BROOK WALK and the header #3 Whittier Falls with additional information and old photographs of the waterfall A nearly hidden waterfall at the bottom of a ravine surounded by tall trees. The sun reflects off the water. A white sign with a green header and white text reading BROOK WALK and the header #4 The Cascades with additional information and an old photograph of the waterfall A small but wide waterfall with multiple plumes of water falling over the rocks. A white sign with a green header and white text reading BROOK WALK and the header #5 Emerald Pool Falls with additional information and an image of the waterfall. A waterfall made of multiple thin streams of water mostly hidden by trees. A white sign with a green header and white text reading BROOK WALK and the header #6 Bridal Veil Falls with additional information and old photographs of the waterfall. A tall waterfall cutting through sheer cliffs and crashing from fifty feet above a shallow pool of water A white sign with a green header and white text reading BROOK WALK and the header #7 Falls of Songs with additional information and old photographs of the waterfall

Visiting the Castle in the Clouds area to take the Brook Walk was certainly worth the visit. As an added bonus, a free Solar Observing session with solar telescopes hosted by members of the New Hampshire Astronomical Society was set up not far from the trail on the day I visited.

A green and brown trailhead bulletin board with multiple posters, including a description of Brook Walk and a map of the trails. A wooden bridge stretching across two rocky banks of a small but fast moving stream in a forest of thin trees. A life-sized metal statue of a puppy sitting on a rock about to scratch her little ear A life-sized metal statue of a mother dog sitting on a large rock watching over her puppies, currently not in view. A white stand-up sign with a poster called 'The Dynamic Sun' with an image of a red and orange sun on a black background.

The conservation area is open from dawn to dusk. Please do not allow yourself, your children, or your dog to swim in the water, as the currents are deceptively strong. While the hike is short, the trails are along a hillside with rough terrain and may prove difficult for some walkers.


Abby Epplett’s Rating System

Experience: 9/10

Accessibility: 6/10



Location: Castle in the Clouds, 455 Old Mountain Rd, Moultonborough, NH 03254, USA

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