I haven’t covered the England leg of our trip yet – with the exception of Whitby – and I’ll start today. Adam works with several people from England and upon hearing we were going to be travelling around the country told him, “You must visit Warwick Castle!” My own research into the place had turned up good results, so I was more than happy to make it a stopping point in our road trip. Here’s what happened.

Tickets and arrival

I bought our tickets online before we left Australia. I added on to the price a visit to The Castle Dungeon (more on that in a minute), choosing a 10.20am spot. Our schedule dictated that we would be visiting on Easter Sunday – bumper crowd day! – and so I opted for that time before it got too busy. I also like getting to tourist parks early, and I was glad we did that day. I think in anticipation of the crowds, they opened the gates early, at 9.50am, and so we had a wander around the lovely gardens, found the toilets (important!), and then lined up in perfect time for the Dungeon.

This is the entrance. Behind the curtain you’ll be lined up for a few of those funny slapstick kinds of photos you’ll have the chance to purchase afterwards at the gift shop. Then you’re taken to a holding area in preparation for the show/experience.

They’re serious about the photography/videos – and fair enough. The experience is following a series of dramatic and scary rooms, each talking about bloody tales, culminating at the end in a blackened room full of screaming. Age warnings are made for children, particularly very young ones, or those who are easily spooked. And you can see why – one little girl only made it to the first room before being escorted out. They’re very clear about that being an option – and discreet too, so if it’s all too much, you’re whisked away. There’s also a “We won’t touch you, so please don’t touch us” policy – so you know they might take things far, but never too far, so they want the same courtesy in return! And fair enough. I LOVED it. They encourage audience participation – some people hate it, but even I was called up in one room and enjoyed being teased. Well worth the additional money! The actors are great.

That is the only extra we bought. Everything else is part of the ticket – and there is LOTS to do.

You can go climbing up on the battlements – warning: it does get high! Adam took a shot from the highest point, so decide for yourself if you think you can get up there. The views of the surrounding countryside are lovely.

In an area designed for children’s play, near the main entrance/exit, is the Horrible Histories zone. I don’t believe this is a permanent fixture, usually coming out in holiday times and warmer weather, so do check if you want to see it whether it’ll be on or not. To be honest, it looked like fun – but really designed for younger tots. It was extremely busy by the time we got to visit in the afternoon. Keira did like the Operation game.

If you like live shows and demonstrations, you’ll be particularly happy. But make time for them! For example, I really wanted to see the trebuchet show. Really, as in nerdy-geeky excited. But we were so absorbed by what there was to see inside the castle, by the time I looked at my watch I realised we’d missed it! And we had to leave before the afternoon showing. Gah! What we did catch the end of was the bird show – I tell you, watching eagles and vultures swooping around was awe-inspiring. Those creatures are massive. One little boy, just out of show, put out his hand to touch this eagle as it passed, but the bird handler stopped him with a very, very emphatic “No”. I can see why – I wouldn’t want to mess with it!

Tips

• If possible, bring a packed lunch. Or, even better, a picnic. If the weather is fine, the grounds are gorgeous and offer ample places to spread out a blanket and eat. It was harder for us to do that, so stuck with the tea house, which was fine. We didn’t get to the restaurant, so I can’t speak for that, but we only needed to walk past it at lunchtime to hear how busy it was.
• The Time Tower is a new attraction in 2015 and at first I thought it would be boring, but it turned into quite an immersive multimedia experience. Might be a good option if little ones start to get tired of walking through roped-off rooms and looking at armour.
• Speaking of kids and armour – if they’re lucky, they get to try it on. Look – Keira did! See the video below. (Riley did after, but I didn’t get footage of that.)
• Keep your eye out for genuinely cool historical treasures. In other places, they’re put well out of proper sight of us ‘common folk’ – but here, for example, you can get right up to a clock that used to belong to Marie Antoinette, or stand in front of a saddle thought to have been used by Queen Elizabeth I.

Big thumbs up from us!

Keira trying on chain mail: