Logistics:
- It’s a 1.5h train jourey from London Marylebone to Warwick via Chiltern Railways. From Warwick Station it’s a quick 10-15 minute walk up into town and to the Castle.
- The Warwick Castle Knights Village offers woodland lodges and a hotel (starting summer 2024) all year round and glamping tents from May through October. My personal experience is that some amazing deals are to be had if you are flexible enough to book just 1-2 days before heading there or if you can do term time weekdays.
Warwick Castle throughout the year:
Warwick castle has quickly become one of our favorite attractions included on the Merlin Pass and we have visited at various times throughout the year. Attractions available year round (weather permitting as the playground and maze can be closed at short notice due to rain and ice):
- Exploring the Castle grounds
Climbing up to the Conqueror’s Fortress, exploring the towers and ramparts, wander around the grand hall & state rooms of the castle (probably the kiddo’s least favorite activity), chasing peacocks around the peacock garden and learning about the history of electricy and see how it used to work exploring the Mill & Engine House. There is plenty to keep young and old alike entertained while also learning bits and pieces of English history. - Horrible Histories Maze
This is my son’s absolute favorite part of the Castle. The maze runs with the theme of travelling back in time and different areas of the maze are themed in line with different times throughout history. Each themed areas includes some play spaces, activities and photo opportunities. Highlights are the Norman Fort / World War Trenches and the Viking Ship play area. Make sure to pick up a stamping booklet at the start and if you find all stamps in the maze you can get yourself a pop badge as reward when existing through the gift shop at the end of the day. - Zog Playground
My 6 year old is starting to get a bit bored of this playground. I would say the slides and structures are perfect size and themes for 2-5 year olds. This doesn’t mean though that he won’t go and play there on every visit, it’s just very dependent on if he has a friend in tow or makes a friend whether we spend 10 minutes or 2 hours there. - Time Tower
A favorite of the kiddo which we often have to experience on repeat. The Time Tower is an audio-visual journey through the history of Warwick Castle told across three different rooms in one of the towers. Having learned about William the Conqueror and the Bayeux tapestry in Year 1 at school, the kiddo was especially excited to hear about the connection of William the Conqueror to Warwick Castle. - The Princess Tower
We went three years without checking this one out for the first time. I can see how it is appealing to any little ones adoring princesses, but the boys we had in tow weren’t too fussed by it. It all felt and looked a bit outdated compared to all the other brilliant experiences Warwick Castle puts on. - The Kingmaker
This is an experience that takes you through various activities and kit required in preparing for battle. I have it in my memory that this used to have audio commentary in each of the areas, but the last few times we went there wasn’t any audio and we had to read the details for each rooms on signs instead. - The Royal Weekend Party
This is a self-paced walk through of a number of rooms within the main castle which have been staged to represent activities that used to take place in each room. There is also audio bringing each room to live. While I find this part of the castle fascinating and would have thought the kiddo would be interested too, he so far has always just raced through without listening to anything
Attractions available at certain times of the year:
- War of the Roses
A brilliant re-telling of the War of the Roses that’s worth a visit on its own. The first time I took my son to see this was when he was 6 years old. As can be expected from a war, there is a lot of violence and death invlved. Both things my son would have struggled with any earlier and which still raised a lot of questions around why there are wars, why people fight, what happens to the ones getting killed, etc. - Falconers Quest
We absolutely adore this bird of prey show. Telling the story of a boy who seeks to become the head falconer at Warwick Castle, this show provides some stunning displays. My personal favorite place to sit is up on the grass right underneath the little wooden hut. A lot of birds will start or end their flights on the roof of the hut, so you are in the middle of the action. Not the place to be if you get scared of birds flying – what feels like – just centimeters from your head. There is a reduced Winter Birds of Prey show from November through March which is also special in its own way – much more intimate and providing the opportunity to directly ask the falconer questions. - Legend of the Trebuchet
A new addition in the summer of 2023, kids and adults alike watched fascinated as the story unfolds around the Trebuchet. With the highlight definitly being the Trebuchet being launched. - The Bowman
We have only ever seen this from afar and in bits and pieces as there has always been so much else on we kept trying to fit in. - The ZOG LIVE show
Such a brilliant little show which I personally prefer over the west end staging. Mainly targeted at under 5 year olds but there are plenty of older kids who wouldn’t want to miss grabbing one of the bean bags on the lawn to watch the show. - Zog The Quest for the Golden Star
Lovely trail around the castle grounds, getting the kids to participate in some of Zog’s quests and finishing off with a knights training session and a golden start reward (pop badge or sticker). - Christmas Light Trail
The light trail seems to be getting bigger and better every year. It’s the perfect light trail to bring kids along to as there are always some interactive elements and it is just that little bit shorter than Christmas at Kew (it usually takes us ~1 – 1.5 hours to get around the whole trail). There is also a market with a bunch of food stalls, including a marshmallow roasting pit. - Stoytime with Santa
There two story times with Santa. The main one takes place in the Castle and involves a story being read by Santa to a group of kids as well as meeting Misses Clause and some elfs. There is usually a small present involved and families get to go up one by one to take a picture with Santa. The Storytime with Santa included in the Christmas Sleepover at the Knights Village takes place in a Tippi in the Knights Village and also involves a story and pictures. Both places are magical in their own way, but I wouldn’t do both the same year. - Ice Skating
We have only done the skating once but loved the atmosphere of skating with the castle as backdrop. The morning sessions are usually really quiet (we were the only ones on the ice for an 11am mid-week session) but it does get quite busy towards the afternoon & evening.
Overnight Stay at Knights Village:
I absolutely adore the setting of the Knights Village. Cozy lodges, set along a wooden boardwalk leading through a forest of tall trees with a stream in the background. Dusk and dawn, when some fog settles over the water is just magical. The kids love running around the space independently - there is little to worry about as the area is enclosed by a fence and there is also a fence (albeit one that could easily be climbed if a kids were so inclined) between the lodges and the water.
We have spent at least one night a year at the Knights Village for the last 3 years. During these stays we have experienced a winter mid-week break (as off peak as it can get!), several early summer mid week stays, and a Christmas Sleepover during the last weekend of November. Each of these stays were unique in their own ways and it’s difficult to pick a favorite.
- Off peak mid-week stay means hardly anyone else was staying in the Kinghts Village Lodges. I got an amazing last minute price booking the night before (<£100 in 2021). The evening entertainment was very much reduce – about 1h of entertainment consisting of a knight walking around the tables in the dining hall and entertaining the kids and some knight training the kids could get involved in.
- Summer time enables proper use of the outdoor space. My son was involved in evening entertainment from 5.30pm through until 9pm as he kept participating in an alternating programme of knights training and princess stories. In the meantime, us adults got to enjoy the evening sun with a drink from a pop up bar. During the summer we enjoy staying in the Medieval Camping tents instead of the lodges as my son loves sleeping in a tent. It does mean having to use a shared toilet / shower block, but they are well maintained.
- Christmas Sleep Over is a truely magical experience. The evening entertainment included a panto style performance involving an elf trying to defend a bag of presents from a naughty knight before settling the kids down for a 45 min bedtime story revolving around Warwick Castle told by an elf. The following morning we received a wake-up call by an elf visiting our lodge and giving the boys a lovely little gift in the form of a sleigh bell. After a truely delicious breakfast, the experience ended with a 20 minute story time with Santa in a Tipi tent onsite. There are a lot of special touches throughout, including Santa making a reference to details from the story the elf told the previous night.
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