It was Medieval Week at school last week and we decided to go a bit extra on the homework and took ourselves off to Warkworth Castle. Zoe decided to wear her knights costume and let me tell you, there is nothing more fun than going to a castle with a little knight, everyone from staff to other visitors join in with the game - for the hour and a half we were there she basically ran the place.
Warkworth Castle is in Northumberland, between Amble and Alnmouth. It is really picturesque as you drive up and spot it on top of the hill.
It is an English Heritage property, so it is free for members or around £8 for an adult and £5 for a child. There are a lot of little nooks and cranny's to explore in the ruins of the older bit of the castle, we had so much fun imagining what would have been where and who would have been in that space. Then there is the cross shaped keep building which you can fully explore across three floors. Zoe just kept asking to go back in and up and down all the secret staircases - I definitely got my steps in that day!
If you have mobility concerns I would say the keep is quite stair heavy, I would also leave pushchairs at home.
There are a couple of picnic benches to bring your own sandwiches and a small gift shop that serves tea and coffee/juice. Or if you venture away from the castle there are so many cute cafes/tearooms and pubs in the village to explore. Sam over on North East Family Fun has a great comprehensive guide to Warkworth which has food recommendations.
We brought our own scones, clotted cream and jam as a treat. We ended up eating them in the car due to drizzly rain but it still felt like a fancy treat. It also lead to a discussion about what they ate in medieval times and a good opportunity to squeeze in some research for Zoe's homework!
After the castle and scones, we did a lap around the outside of the castle, in the moat, Zoe loved climbing up the steep hills and you could also walk down to the riverside, which is a fantastic walk. We were pretty tired out by this point so decided to head home but next time we might go earlier and do the riverside walk and Hermitage if it is open. There is also a lovely beach nearby, so you could really make a day of it!
I would really recommend Warkworth as a little bit of a low key version of Alnwick Castle, and much cheaper - with a little imagination and a knights costume it can be a real blast! Its also perfect for a challenging game of hide and seek!
Comments
Post a Comment