We have just returned from a brilliant weekend at Warwick Castle, staying overnight in a Woodland Lodge at the Knight’s Village. Our package included 2 days castle entry, dinner, breakfast and parking. It was a fun-packed experience for all the family and this is a review of our stay.
Arrival
We arrived by car and parked in the Knight’s Village car park which is free if you are a staying guest. Our first impressions of the Knights Village were that it was really magical.
There are a number of medieval themed wooden lodges nestled in pretty woodland in the grounds of Warwick Castle and right next to the River Avon.
Within the Knight’s Village there are also the Medieval Glamping Tents set through the middle of the site, which looked very inviting.
We were greeted at reception by a very friendly receptionist. This is in a timber building which housed the Medieval themed banquet hall as well. We were given our pass to get into the castle grounds as we couldn’t actually check into our lodge until 4pm.
As it was only 11.30am we left our belongings in the car and headed to the castle through a secure gate within the Knight’s Village.
Day 1 at Warwick Castle
Walking through the beautiful grounds of the castle from the Knight’s Village was very pleasant. As we walked along the path towards the castle we spotted lily pads, ladybirds and butterflies.
Before we reached the castle, to our right we noticed the jousting show was just starting so we quickly made our way over to that.
12pm War Of The Roses Live
My daughter was so excited to see this show as she is a huge horse lover and they all looked very grand in their costumes. The live show is based on The House of Lancaster and the House of York battling it out for the throne.
You can choose which side you want to support and the actors dressed in armour, get the crowd involved so everyone is cheering their team on. The stunt riders are fearless as they ride the horses standing up, laying down and almost upside down and the jousting really has everyone on their toes.
There are special effects too to make the show really atmospheric- I felt like I was in an episode of Game Of Thrones! I would highly recommend checking the time this show is on when you visit as it’s not to be missed.
12.30pm Archery
There are plenty of activities to keep little ones entertained including Knight’s School, where they get the chance to practice their tactical defence skills on the lawn. Most of the kids at this activity were between 3-7 years old. My girls are aged 10 and 7 and decided they wanted to try archery.
This was £3 for 6 shots or £5 for 12 shots. We went for the 12 and the staff were on hand to guide them with their bow and arrow. My daughter Ella was especially impressed and added a bow and arrow to her wish list!
1pm Great Hall & State Dining Room
We walked round to the castle and headed inside the Great Hall. There was an original collection of armour and swords displayed, plus costumes and artefacts from the medieval times.
We walked through the lavish rooms where there were some wonderful tapestries dating back to the 17th century and the actual death bed of Queen Anne who died in 1714. You are able to get a tour in here, but we opted to just walk through and look at it all ourselves as our kids wanted to get back outside.
1.30pm The Falconer’s Quest
We were all a bit peckish although we had eaten a big breakfast before we arrived, so we grabbed some Cornish Pasties from The Tasty Pasty van onsite and headed round to the riverside arena to watch the bird of prey show.
There are benches on the hill which you need to get to at least 20-30 minutes early if you want to sit on these, but there is also plenty of grass to grab a spot and sit down if you don’t get a seat. A picnic blanket is a good idea here!
This is a new show to Warwick Castle and one that we were looking forward to seeing. The scene was set with the story of a young Falconer off in search of his birds. The show included special effects and dramatic music which really added to the display!
We were wowed with wonderful birds of prey flying right overhead in perfect timing to the story. There was a beautiful Barn Owl, Steller’s Sea Eagle, a Peregrine Falcon which soared through the sky at great speed and had the crowd gasping and an amazing Condor with a wing span of around 10ft!
The show finale was spectacular, but I don’t want to ruin it for anyone, so it’s worth going to see it for yourself!
We were all mesmerised by this show and decided we would definitely watch it again on the Sunday.
2.15pm Princess Tower
After the show we wandered back to the castle and noticed 2 princesses handing out tickets for a fairy tale story in the Princess Tower. This was aimed at younger children, but my 7 year old really wanted to go to this so we participated and it was fairly entertaining watching the kids piece together the clues for the princess telling the story.
This was short and sweet and there was a photo opportunity to be dressed as a princess with a fairy tale background.
3.00pm The Castle Dungeon
This is a ticketed event which is £10pp or cheaper if you book online in advance. It isn’t suitable for children under the age of 10 but we thought we would give it a go as the girls both seemed up for it.
We were greeted by a creepy jester who led us into The Castle Dungeon. It was pitch black and we could make out real figures lurking in the dark. Everyone was apprehensive and giggly walking inside, but there were also a few kids in tears.
Unfortunately my kids got spooked and wanted to leave before we had a chance to experience the rest of the attraction. My husband stayed on and did the tour (which was quite long- think he was in there about 45 minutes!) and he thought it was brilliant.
Apparently the actors were excellent at scaring the living daylights out of everyone and he said he was pretty scared!
It got to 4pm and we were all pretty excited about checking into our Woodland Lodge so we headed out of the castle and back to the ranch.
Our Woodland Lodge
We stayed in lodge 105 which was nearest to the reception. On entering the smell of the log cabin was delightful. Our lodge was Medieval themed with chunky wooden bed, high ceiling, separate room with bunk beds for the kids and an extra pull-out bed, so the lodge would comfortably sleep up to 5 people.
The lodge was fully equipped with a clean wet room, shower and toilet, hairdryer, kettle, tea, coffee and biscuits plus a flat screen TV and free wifi. We were all very happy.
The kids loved our large veranda with bench and steps leading out onto the grass. There were a few kids running around, hiding behind trees, playing and enjoying the great outdoors. It was lovely and felt very safe.
We really appreciated staying in the Woodland lodge after having a sneak peak at the Medieval Glamping Tents, which were nicely kitted out but much more basic and with shared toilets and showers.
Overall we thought our accommodation was excellent. The lodge was nice, cosy and warm and so nice to come back to after a day at the castle.
We decided to head down to reception and pre-book our table for dinner.
Dinner in the Knight’s Village
We headed to the Banquet Hall in the Knight’s Village for our evening meal. Dinner is an added extra if you choose to book it. Its £19.95 per adult and £9.95 per child, which includes soft drinks. There is a bar in the Banqueting Hall so you can have something a little stronger should you wish.
There were a few self serve buffet options for adults including roast gammon and all the trimmings, steak pie and chips and the vegetarian option was a bean chilli with rice. There was also a kids section with tomato pasta which looked really good, chicken pops, chips and fish fingers.
Pudding was everyone’s favourite. There were mini deserts available which you could go up and help yourself to. The chocolate brownies and treacle tarts went down a treat and there was also an option to pick donuts and churros which you could add your own toppings to.
The quality of the meals was as I expected- nothing out of the ordinary, but we all came out feeling fed.
Breakfast in the Knight’s Village
Breakfast is included in your stay but you need to book your table at reception. We had breakfast at 9.30am and again it was a self service buffet in the Banquet Hall, with hot cooked Full English, pancakes, cereals, fruit and yoghurts.
After breakfast we went back to our lodge to pack and checkout before 11am. The castle opens at 10am and we were ready to go again for about 10.30am.
Day 2 at Warwick Castle
10.30am Knight’s School
On our second day at the castle we were more relaxed as we had covered a lot of the activities on our first day. We decided to head to Oak Tree lawn and watch the little ones taking part in Knight’s School with their wooden swords.
Parents can happily laze on the grass, watch the peacocks stride past and enjoy the weather (if it’s nice!).
11am Gaol
We headed to the Gaol for a look at the cells where Castle prisoners were left to rot and some imprisoned for many years, as discovered by inscriptions on the stone walls. Probably not the best place to go if you are claustrophobic.
11.15am Kingmaker
We stumbled upon the Kingmaker section of the castle. This was a really immersive journey through rooms which showed excellent displays of what life was really like in 1471.
The sounds and smells really set the scene and the horses stables really smelled like stables! The girls enjoyed looking at what castle life was like, including what food they ate and what they wore.
11.30am Guy’s Tower
If you can, you must climb the 500 odd steps to the top of Guy’s Tower. The panoramic views from the top are stunning and you get a really good look at the Castle from up high.
Just be careful on the way down-those stone, spiral staircases are not for the faint hearted. I must admit my legs felt a little shaky when I reached the bottom!
12.00pm Lunch
We decided to grab a spot on the lawn and as the sun was shining we took in the rays and relaxed with the beautiful Castle in full sight.
We bought lunch from some of the food huts, which included burger and chips for the kids and loaded fries for the adults…oh and an ice cream for afters.
1.30pm The Falconers Quest…again!
We watched this show again as we enjoyed it so much the first time. It was just as good the second time around.
2pm Horrible Histories® Maze
Last but not least we walked around to the front of the castle which we actually hadn’t seen until now! This was where the Horrible Histories® Maze was situated. The kids were off like a shot and we spent our time trying not to lose them in the maze.
At the start, they were able to collect a time passport and then when they reached different milestones (which were all themed e.g Terrifying Tudors, Measly Middle Ages etc.) they were able to collect a stamp. If they managed to collect all 6 stamps they could collect a prize in the castle shop.
Summary
We left Warwick castle around 3pm on Sunday, back through the VIP gate back into the Knight’s Village and through to the car park. We felt like 2 days was the perfect amount of time to cover all of the attractions and shows.
I would like to take this chance to praise all the staff at Warwick Castle. They are all so friendly, chatty and I don’t think there was one who didn’t ask us how our day was going and if we were enjoying our visit. Top customer service.
If there was anything I would change, it would only be the check in time at the Knights Village. 4pm is a little later than we would have liked, but that’s all I can think of!
As a family we all thoroughly enjoyed our weekend at the Castle and especially loved our stay in our Woodland Lodge. Would we return? Yes definitely. The girls are already asking when we can go again.
Lila’s feedback, Age 11– “I thought it was very nice at Warwick Castle as there was lots of nature like birds, bugs and squirrels. I really liked the lodge as it was comfortable and safe. They had a TV, a kids bedroom with a bunkbed and a nice bathroom. My favourite part of Warwick was watching the bird show as they had birds that you never see everyday like vultures and eagles. The food was also really nice. My favourite was the popcorn chicken. I really enjoyed Warwick and would rate it a 10/10. I would definitely like to go again!”
Thanks to Warwick Castle for organising this trip.
