Sudeley Castle

Sudeley Castle

I love history, it was my favourite subject at school and college and I can remember spending hours studying the family trees of the various royal houses. As it was my birthday a couple of weeks ago I asked Daddy P if we could visit Sudeley Castle, somewhere I’ve always wanted to visit.  Situated in Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, it’s about an hour and half drive from us, but on a bright, sunny Sunday off we set.

Exploring Sudeley Castle

I knew that Monkey would enjoy the grounds, whilst I would love exploring the historical Castle, Daddy P loves gardens too, so an all round good destination for us.  We paid £14 per adult ticket, as Monkey is under 5, he was free.  We could have saved 10% by booking online in advance.  We were given a map of the Castle and Gardens and kids get a free Activity Booklet to complete.  Monkey was a bit young for it but I picked bits out of it as we walked around to discuss with him.

We passed through the ruins of an old Tithe Barn to catch our first glimpse of Sudeley Castle.

Sudeley Castle

Monkey was fascinated by the old barn, where is the roof Daddy?  We explained that the building was very old, even older than Daddy, Wow! We then walked through the grounds on our way to the Castle itself.  I love taking photographs – I was in heaven.  Monkey loved exploring and playing hide and seek with us.

Sudeley Castle

Part of Sudeley Castle is in ruins, bu a large part of the main house is intact.  We explored the various exhibits, there was a family tree showing the various owners of the Castle over the centuries.  Edward IV owned it and gave it to his brother who later became Richard III.  Katherine Parr lived there after Henry VIII’s death, before Sudeley Castle became derelict after the Civil War.  It’s a fascinating place, you can’t take photographs inside but there are some stunning old stained glass windows.  Beautiful.

A 4 year old Monkey coped very well with our walk around the inside of Sudeley Castle, but he was much happier to be back outside, running around, having fun.  Although he quite liked a quick visit to St Mary’s Church, we explained that a Queen of England was buried there.  Uum, Mummy, no, the Queen lives in London!

Sudeley Castle

Sudeley Castle

We walked through the gardens and headed off for the Pheasantry and Owlery.

Sudeley Castle

In 1837, the restoration of Sudeley Castle and Gardens began by the Dent family.  It’s definitely worth a visit if you are in the area, we all enjoyed our visit.  Around every corner there was something new to discover.

We had some lunch at the Terrace Cafe and then decided to explore the Playground before leaving.  There is a large picnic area so great if you were more organised than I was!

Sudeley Castle

Monkey loved the little houses and even went on the slide, again and again (wow!!).  He wasn’t quite brave enough for the great wooden castle though.

If we lived at little nearer I’d be tempted to upgrade to an annual pass.  I’m sure we’ll be back at some point in the future.

 

 

27 thoughts on “Sudeley Castle

  1. I keep meaning to visit Sudeley. It’s not too far away for us and I’ve always been fascinated by the Katherine Parr connection. Winchcombe is a pretty village too.

  2. What a lovely birthday treat, a gorgeous place with something for everyone in the family – which makes for a great family day out. You’ve taken some beautiful photos which show just how picturesque the gardens are, it must have been lovely to wander through them in the sunshine. Thanks for linking up and sharing with Country Kids.

  3. Sudely is wonderful – I first went there on a school trip and loved it, going back several times after that.

  4. Wow, what amazing photographs. Sudeley looks like such a wonderful place to visit. One to add to my ever growing list! #countrykids

  5. This isn’t too far away from us and we haven’t been there, I think we’ll take the girls one day, they would love the play fort! #countrykids

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