Get lost at Castle Howard - VIDEO

But while the North Yorkshire stately home may have attracted crowds of Jeremy Irons fans weaned on the 1981 TV series, it has been left to artist Emma Metcalfe to engage a young 21st century audience.

Ms Metcalfe, 23, from Hillsborough, Sheffield, has devised a new illustrated Riddle Trail, which she hopes will bring Castle Howard to life for a new generation of visitors who prefer family fun to staring at statues.

The trail, which will be launched on Good Friday, is designed to encourage families to explore the grounds and find things they may not have appreciated fully, or even glanced at.

Children start in the Boar Garden where there will be a sign with a short rhyme – the clue to the next destination.

Trail followers then use the bespoke map to identify that destination and go there for the next rhyme. While looking for clues, they will hardly be able to miss iconic sights such as the Atlas Fountain and Gladiator statue.

The haunting beauty of one of the grandest private residences in Britain, and home of the Howard family for 300 years, spurred Waugh to finish his magnum opus in six months between December 1943 and June 1944 following a minor parachute accident.

But in some ways he had it easy. Emma's biggest challenge was fitting the house and 1,000 acres of grounds onto an A3- sized piece of paper She said: "The blank piece of paper looks massive when you start. But once you've drawn in a building the size of Castle Howard it made the rest of it very hard work.

"At first I was a bit worried that the Howard family would say 'you've missed off a chimney or a window' but the feedback has been fantastic.

"Because they have such a lovely adventure playground the children want to go there straightaway. The aim is to keep the children occupied and take a second look rather than just running straight past to adventure playground." The Hon Simon and Mrs Rebecca Howard were particularly interested in this commission because of their eight-year-old twins, Merlin and Octavia.

Mrs Howard said: "We know at first-hand how hard it can be to keep everybody happy on a day out with young children.

"We'd thought for a long time that it would be helpful to have a fun children's trail around the grounds. We watch so many parents being dragged straight off to the adventure playground.

"Our new trail will give the grown-ups the chance to see the gardens and grounds while the children have fun discovering the clues along the way." The Riddle Trail also heralds the launch of a new children's mascot for Castle Howard.

Emma has taken the lion from the family's coat of arms and incorporated him into the map.

"He's called Geoffrey, which is a Howard family name. Those that look closely will be able to spot him in various places on the map. One of my favourites is him coming down the slide in the adventure playground," she said.

And what of Evelyn Waugh who could also stake a claim to putting Castle Howard on the map? Ms Metcalfe said: "Maybe it was something we should have put in – but it never came up.

Maybe if there is a second edition..."