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.
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.
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.
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!
We walked through the gardens and headed off for the Pheasantry and Owlery.
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!
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.
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.
We didn’t get to the village but I’d recommend the Castle and Gardens. H is at the right age to nail the activities too.
This place looks like my kind of place! I would love to go there one day!
I’ll second how good it is Katie 🙂
We’ll be back I’m sure, just stunning.
You would love it! Without a doubt.
Another place I’ve never heard of, it looks like a beautiful place to visit! x
It’s stunning, I am so pleased we went.
Oh, it looks so lovely there. Like you, I love history, and all of that outdoor space looks fab for the children, too. Not too far from us, so we must go, thank you x
I can recommend it – well worth a visit
You have so many lovely places to visit around you! This looks like a great place for a day out with so much to do.
I know, within an hour and half we have so many options – lucky!
It’s great to learn some history on a day out
Isn’t it, we all got something out of the visit.
That play area looks fab! Lovely photo’s Mary. Hope you’re having a lovely day x
Its amazing
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.
It really is one of those places where I take hundreds of photos and it was so hard to narrow them down!
Sudely is wonderful – I first went there on a school trip and loved it, going back several times after that.
Looks like a lovely place to visit. I will have to see if it is near enough for us to have a look when we come up that way at the end of May, Thanks
Well worth a visit if you are in the area. We went on to Snowshill Manor afterwards – more on that this weekend!
Wow, what amazing photographs. Sudeley looks like such a wonderful place to visit. One to add to my ever growing list! #countrykids
It really is quite stunning
Amazing day! Look at those fun photos! #countrykids
It really was beautiful.
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
It’s worth a visit for sure, that fort is fab.