Warwick Castle

One of my favourite destinations. Every time I go there is like a first time. There is always something different. I love the actors that go around dressed like royalties and go around speaking to people. I feel like in an old movie. And also the battles by the river are spectacular.

Right first the positives, the Castle is superb, majestic, surrounded by beautiful scenery and grounds.The negatives? £21 entrance fee for starters, unbelievable admission price, Caerphilly Castle is a mere £4 by comparisom, and if you want to visit the Dungeon it's nearly another £8 on top!!!

A lot of people have pointed out that the Castle is almost bordering on a 'theme park'...with the prices to go with it!!!

(oh and don't bother with visiting the Gaol, you will queue to go in a dark room and look at a two foot piece of metal in the ground)

**lush place **

Great full day out, great for the kids as normally loads going on, though for some parts you do have to pay extra, but all in all a great day out for all the family see my full review at  http://www.kevinsimon.co.uk/?p=623

As a castle fanatic this was a castle i’d wanted to visit for years. My partner and I booked a special ticket for valentines, which cost £60 for the two of us.

On arrival parking was £5 which was paid at the end. It’s a good walk up to the castle…I always like that. The castle looks like its from a fairytale. There were lots of people dressed in costume and making you feel part of the castle. The Royal house was good, this held the most information about the family history there.

We climbed the castle to see the views and my word, we are reasonably fit but this made our knees ache lol, it is quite steep and a lot of climbing. The views were fantastic and you don’t realise how high you are getting. It was a miserbale day when we went in feb, so it was very windy at the top.

The walks around the gardens were lovely, as it was valentines they had 3 ‘kissing benches’ we found one and thought it was just part of the package ticket but they were for everyone.

We loved the area which had all the smells and thigs to try on. They had some speakers explaining about the way of life back then and how the king treated them.

As part of the valentines ticket, we had to go into the great hall at a certain time. We had champagne (supposed to 2 glasses each, but was more than that) and canopies, a rose a small box chocolates. The people were dressed in period costumes as the countess and earl, they came and spoke to each little table and we had a Shakespear sonnet read to us. There was traditional music playing, it was lovely. This lasted about 40 minutes to an hour.

We then went to the dungeons, this cost us extra,about £7.80 each it should be incuded in the prices here. It was funny though. Be prepared to have things jump out on you! My partner was picked in the torture room to have the tools demonstrated on and I was picked in the court, I had to stand trial as a dancing naked witch…I then had to walk into a pitch black room and as I did this really loud screaming noise went off so naturally i screamed too haha. The mirror room was good.

The jail was small with no info. The water mill was something different.

My partner and I enjoyed ourselves, we found it romantic and got lost in the day, perhaps because it was valentines weekend? but it was overpriced for what was on offer. We didn’t eat here so cannot comment on the food. Additionally, what let the castle down a lot ,is the lack of historical information available. Shame there wasn’t any jousting on that day either.

Half an hour on the train from Birmingham, this is a huge castle where you could spend at least half a day. So many different towers to explore with a huge playground for the children. The cafe is cheap and has amazingly friendly staff.

The buses are infrequent so a better service would be very useful as it's too far to walk.

This was a great day out! We went thinking it was going to be dry,but there were a few very heavy showers,which brings me to my main negative point - when there is so many people and lots of pushchairs,there is nowhere to shelter,so come prepaired for altering weather. Understandably you cannot take pushchairs inside or up/down so many steps,so if you have a youngster who doesnt walk yet,be aware you either have to stay outside with them,if weather is dry,or leave your pushchairs in the pouring rain and lug the little ones around inside! Otherwise the whole experience is a fantastic one,although the price is expensive,but keep an eye on their website for offers. We found a 2 for 1 offer,and if you have a Merlin card,it is well worth the visit! We travelled there by train and it was well sign posted,until you got to the street you were supposed to go up,by the tourist information in the town.
We also paid the extra for the jousting at sunset to finish our day,which was great,starting off with stories/singing,birds of prey,jester,fighting/weapon history,jousting and ending with a big ball of fire being launched into the night sky!

But with all of these things,the best way to discover if its your kind of thing,is,if you have the money and means,go and discover the place for yourself! This place I say is well worth it!!

Expensive but so cool for the kids to go to loved the archery and the birds of prey.

Expensive to get in… But if you get a family ticket, student tickets or a voucher (I think W H Smiths are doing them at the moment) it makes a difference. Nice food, but that’s expensive too. In terms of the castle itself it’s set in beautiful grounds and certainly has an interesting history. During the summer evenings they have concerts set in the grounds which are stunning and in winter they have an icerink which is always fun. So there are plenty of “seasonal” activities depending on time of year - good for a special family day out!

This is an overrated experience which I found to be quite expensive. The staffs seem amiable enough but I was not really wowed by the Castle itself. Yes it’s crammed with history but that’s what you get when visiting such places. I just felt that it is oversold for what it is essentially. The food at the cafe is terrible and the sandwiches looked like they had been prepared in the Medival Times! Pass i say!!!

Warwick castle is a beautiful medieval castle, It was built by William the Conqueror in 1068 and is a gorgeous piece of English heritage, I'm not going to bore you all with too much history of the place as you could easily see that on Wikipedia etc, so I will try and explain more from a family day out point of view and will also mention the experience I have encountered on the more corporate and entertaining side of the venue. (I hope that makes sense )

I do not live too far from Warwick so I have visited the castle many times both as a child and now as a mother myself, the castle can be seen from all around the town and is built next to the river Avon, on top of a hill and is truly a most charming site you could hope to see, its signposted very well throughout the town and also travelling there, (M40) you will not miss the numerous signs.

It currently belongs to the Tussards group whom brought it in the 70's, and over the years its become a lot more commercial and is one of the UK's most visited attractions now, although I do not feel this detracts from the beauty and magic of the castle.

When I was a little girl my parents took me there many times, especially in the summer for picnics etc and I can remember vividly finding it so spellbinding and used to imagine I was a princess and there were magical fairies all around the castle, and id be running around while my dad pretending he was a dragon and my brother would try and slay him, its just the most beautiful and magical place and I have so many fond memories of visiting there as a child.

Upon visiting there now with my children, I have tried to recreate some of the good times I had their as a child, and thankfully it has worked, my children love having picnics in the grounds and also love role playing, they are a prince and a princess, and this time its mummy who is the dragon and daddy is the king..... did not bargain I would end up as the dragon, but oh well!! I think the grounds of Warwick castle are the best thing in my opinion and me and my family love this part of Warwick castle the best.

The castle has many other things to offer such as;

Brilliant displays of furniture and tapestries

Dungeons and torture rooms

Grand and stunning stately rooms (there is a lovely display of a running bath, and you can smell the lavender going into the bath, it's so lovely)

Ghost tower ( don't take the little ones up, my daughter screamed her lungs out ...maybe because her big brother had his jumper over his head shouting "ooooooooooooo" at the top of his voice pretending he was a ghost...little monkey!)

Numerous towers to climb and ruins to explore (wear comfy shoes and also be careful as some of the stairs are very narrow and quite dangerous for small children or elderly people)

Weapon collection featuring armour, swords etc

There are load more great things to see and experience other than those already mentioned for e.g. there is now a new playground for the children which is really nice, it has a castle type themed playgym with swings, slides, the nets to climb up etc. It's very safe and my children really loved it.
There are also some seats nearby for the mummies and daddies to have a rest, or in my hubbies case a sleep!! Can not take him anywhere!!
I am looking forward to going again soon, as I would really like to experience the playground again in better weather and also in a few weeks time they open the new exhibition of the castle dungeon, and I would love to go and see that.

Anyway in summary it's a great day out for all ages, and myself and my family always thoroughly enjoy ourselves, it can be whatever you want it to be, whether that be informative, relaxing, creative or whether you are like us and pretend to be princesses and dragons etc....its all good fun.

**Other info**
Prices are as follows
Adult 16.95
Child 10.00 (this is for children four to sixteen)
Senior 11.95 (60 +0
Student 14.95
Disabled/carer 8.50
Family 45.00 (2 adults and 2 children)

If you book online though you get an extra 10 percent off.

Opening times
5th January - 3rd April 2009 10-5
4th April - 1st November 2009 10-6

(Another tip is if you save up your club card vouchers or I think nectar might do them as well, then trips like this can be funded through them)

**The corporate and dining experience with Warwick Castle****

I work for a large company who's head office is in Warwick, so we tend to have quite a few events and meetings etc at Warwick castle and I must say they are absolutely fantastic and well worth every penny spent.

Some of my colleagues have experienced both the kingmakers banquet and also the highwayman's dinner and both experiences were absolutely brilliant, especially the highwayman's one.

Myself and my family really would like to try out there new event for this year, it's the dungeons after dark the description of the evening is as listed below, and it sounds great. I know the prices are quite steep but for a night out, especially for a special occasion I think its well worth it. I have put all details below as I thought being such a new event then most people may not have heard of it, and thought it would be of interest to some fellow dooyooers.

**The Caste Dungeon evening**

Do you dare enter The Castle Dungeon after dark?
Deep in the heart of the Castle courtyard lies The Castle Dungeon where the plague is taking no prisoners.
Prepare to experience the darkest, bloodiest and most frightening times in Warwick Castle's history. The Castle Dungeon will provide the ultimate evening of scarily good entertainment complimented by plenty of food and wine, if you still have the stomach for it!
Private tours, drinks receptions and evening dinners are all great ways to experience Warwick Castle's newest attraction. Stay close together and beware, things get more sinister after dark.

The package costs £49.00 per person (inclusive of VAT) and includes:

• A trip through The Castle Dungeon

• A delicious three course dinner served in the Castle's Undercroft by candlelight

• Unlimited beer, wine and soft drinks throughout the evening meal, which may come in handy for steadying your nerves!

The evening starts at 7.15pm and concludes at 11pm

*Menu**

tomato & sorrell broth
~
chicken wrapped in smoked bacon topped with puff pastry cranberry red wine jus served with potatoes and seasonal vegetables
individual pepper stuffed with leek and mushroom risotto (vegetarian option)
~
cherry & apple crumble served with cream
coffee & traditional fudge

(As per details on www.warwickcastle.co.uk)

I would defiantly recommend any company whom are looking for a teambuilding event also to check out the website as they cater for many needs and their customer service is amazing.

Anyway whether you are looking for a family day a corporate event a romantic or entertaining evening, Warwick castle has it all.

quite pricey forwhat you get when no offers on.encourage people to look for offers and then visit.although an annual pass is great value for money for locals. car parkig 33.50 on top. some evnets on but not as much as i expected. ate sunday diner in resturant a cavery and was plasantly suprised. lots of facts to be obtained from visit, not enough audio adhands on for me. child friendly

I went to warwick castle when I was about 12 years old. For a twelve year old boy this place totally rocks. All the old armors and weapons could be touched. It’s a museum with a lot of stuff to touch, play and think about. For example, there was an old amored glove and a sword. To swing the sword like Conan, it takes a lot of power. Using the glove and the sword at the same time makes it much easier, because the glove supports the wrist.(I don’t know if wrist is the exact word for it. In german: Handgelenk)
What I liked too was the demonstrations of how people fought in the middle ages. The actors really never broke out of their caracter in it was great. I liked best the guy showing his skills with his short and Longbow. I aimed really really acurate. Truly amazing. Robin Hood 2.0. I wish I could be twelve years old again and see Warwick Castle once again.

Though a little expensive to get into this place gives a fun filled packed day, it is great for with plenty to do for both kids and adults. The castle has loads to look around. There are the state rooms and a massive great hall. There is also the royal weekend party rooms which show exactly how the rooms were when the prince of wales came for a stay in the 19th century. They have mannequins and items set out as they would have appeared then, there is an area set up as it would have been when richard the earl of warwick was going to war in the war of the roses with weapons being made. There is audio and some funcky smells being pumped out
You can wander around a couple of the 14th century towers which shows how with curtain walls the castle could defend itself and wander to the dungeon whcih is a cold horrible place to bekept
There was a tour on of the ghost tower when we went with re-enacment od how one of the castles owners was murded. That was fun as was the event that they had on in the grounds which was archery and medival entertainment. They do have jousting there sometimes it is best to look on the website before you go to see if anything special is going on
The grounds are nice to walk around there is a lovely rose garden You can also go to the mill house and the engine house which shows you how electricy would have been generated for the castle
There are a couple of places to eat and drink here there is a resteraunt in the coach house as well as one in the undercroft but when you are outside there are ice cream stalls and when the events are on there was a medival burger place which my fiance said did fab burgers
The coach house has nice veggie meals and does some good salads
A good day out for family or friends but I would look first to see if there is a special event on when you go as it makes the cost a little more bareable

Great example of an old English castle. During the summer there are always different events taking place such as jousting and birds of prey exhibition (this is fantastic).The kingmaker exhibition is really good and great for children.
You will need a comfortable pair of shoes as the runis involve lots of steps and stair cases. Can get very busy in the summer and parking is very limited. We have always parked in the local park car park and walked in. They do tend to give you vouchers for your return so although its expensive initially it gets cheaper the next time.

I must visit Warwick Castle at least once a year! It’s a fantatic day out with activities and shows/tours going on throughout the whole day.

You have the entire castle to explore, loads to learn and there are plenty of grounds that you can walk around and maybe have a relaxing lunch on the grass.

There is a large main car park which costs around £7.00 per day. Entrance fee is approx £16 per adult however they do have special family tickets which can be found on the warwick castle website.

The castle also is available for parties - I had my works Christmas party there last year. Is great fun and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the food and the staff are in full character and costume!!

Also most years they turn one of the main areas into an ice-skating rink at christmas which is heaps of fun and is sure to get you into the Christmas mood!

Our visit here was a memorable one, but not quite for the right reasons! We’d had a good morning and a pleasant picnic lunch; there was plenty to do (our elder child had enjoyed some archery, for instance) and we were looking forward to the afternoon. But then the heavens opened. This wasn’t just a passing shower: the rain seemed to be comfortably exceeding the local speed limit and bouncing off the ground, and it went on and on and on… we eventually made it back to the car (some way away, of course) underneath our picnic blanket looking utterly stupid and still getting totally drenched. We learnt that Warwick Castle, whilst good for a sunny day, was probably best avoided in inclement weather.

Visiting Warwick Castle rates as one of the best days out I have ever had. I took a trip to the castle during one of the Medieval Fayre events last spring. We were blessed with a beautiful day, which made the visit even more special.
The Castle boasts a title of 'the best preserved medieval castle in the UK”. It must be true, because the building is in excellent state, both in and out. As most of these places, it was destroyed and built upon during the centuries, creating an amazing mix of medieval through to Victorian architectural and decorative details.
There is a guided tour you can take, explaining all the historical aspects of the place. The past has been brought to life in a very imaginative way, through the use of waxworks engaging in activities representing their respective eras.
The medieval mannequins are situated in the ground floor areas, depicting various aspects of battle preparations.
The more genteel Victorian era is staged in the living quarters upstairs, showing us what a social weekend at the castle would have looked like in 1898. Among the visitors are young Winston Churchill and Prince of Wales, in wax of course. :)
Warwick Castle was a meeting place of the social and political elite of Victorian times.
The grounds are equally impressive. There are some nicely landscaped gardens with peacocks roaming around.
You will find one day is hardly enough to take it all in. History doesn’t come better than this!

For my birthday last year we decided to take a look at Warwick castle with some friends. Now I have been before but they hadn’t and it was a spectacular day for all with everybody having a great time. Now Warwick castle is just as the title suggests, a castle and it is fantastic to visit. There are lots to do and lots to see and the staff are fabulous at making your day out a laugh so here is why I recommend to all to visit Warwick castle when you get chance.

First how to get there;

Warwick Castle
Warwick
Warwickshire
CV34 4QU

Getting to Warwick castle is easy by car because you can go straight on the motorway and it is signposted quite far from the actual castle. By public transport there are bus and train links to Warwick and you can get coach trips to the castle so you could be fine either way. You do have to pay for the car park and it is about £4 but then you can stay for the whole day which you will want to.

When you walk into the castle, you will have to pay admission fee. Now you can get this cheaper if you do buy online so it might be worth doing so before you go. The prices are £17 for an adult and £12 for a child so expect to pay around this per person. A visit is definitely worth them money though.

So you get in there and you can choose whatever you would like to do first. The castle grounds are huge so you can get maps from the few souvenir shops they have dotted around. Now let’s go through some of the things they have to offer at Warwick castle.

The Grounds:

Now the grounds are gorgeous and and huge so you can literally just go and have a wonder. There are turrets to be explored and you can walk around the castle and then have a wonder down by the river and across the fields. There are plenty of steps to climb and places to explore so just take a look around. When you are in the main courtyard you will be able to see a lot of places to go and when you get quite high up in the castle, it offers some great views.

Rooms:

Now there are plenty of rooms which give you some history of the castle. . the history stretches back over 1000 years so in the various rooms you will learn about the castle and what happened there. There are lots of antique weapons, ornaments to view. My favourite room though has to be the torture chambers as I always find them fascinating. To go around the whole castle and listen to everything there is to hear and read, will take you a couple or maybe even a few hours so trust me you will be kept entertained.

Peacocks and Gardens:

The gardens are wonderful and you can walk around, take a look at the beautiful flowers or just sit and marvel at it al. On a nice summers day t is nice to get an ice-cream and just chill. The peacocks are lovely and will come come quite close to you but generally leave people around.

The conservatory is another nice place to go and look around and there are several benches and tables for you to sit and have a bite to eat on. There is also a nice water feature where you can throw a penny into and make a wish which is gorgeous. The whole gardens are just spectacular.

Shows:

You will find that they do shows at several times during the day and throughout the year. This could include falconry and catapult shows so there should be something on that you enjoy. We saw the catapult show when we were there and it was so much fun and laster around twenty minutes and it was nice because the weather was good and everybody was sat on the grassy bank watching.

Eating:

There is a café at the castle where you can get a sandwich or jacket potato and there are also some shops around where you can get drinks.

Souvenirs:

There are some shops at Warwick castle where you can get things such as bookmarks, key rings, books about the castle and other souvenirs.

All in all the castle is a great day out and I do recommend to all. It is nice to go and learn about a historic place, do some exploring but also have friendly staff there who are dressed up and in the spirit of things. I have always had fun there and I think there is something for everybody to keep you entertained.

Thanks for reading.

xxx

P.S. This has been posted on other sites but always by me katygriff

This place is fantastic for a day out and look out for special offers of 2 for 1 either on last minute or on kids cereal boxes etc. Think you can use you tesco vouchers too.

The castle is very big and well known in warwick, expect to queue to park, walk a bit, then queue to get in. It takes a good day to explore it all, especially when it is busy in the holidays and you have to queue for everything - to go down into the basements and up on the walls. Get there early to get a good seat for the jousting- an absolute must see in the summer and the trebuchet is a bit of fun. There are actor/entertainers walking round, so say hi to them, they make the waiting in line more fun.

In the summer some music acts put on concerts here -if you get a good night weather wise it is a fantasic location