Hever Castle – August 2008

It was an overcast Saturday in August when my wife and I visited Hever Castle.

We went because we spotted an advert showing that they had a special African event with some African birds of prey and a Cheetah doing a running display. The castle visit therefore became part of an extended night away together while our daughter spends a night with her grandparents.

Two things made the castle visit more relaxing for us as a couple than any other attraction we have visited in recent years; the lack of a child and the lack of a camera. We were now able to admire everything without constantly keeping a four year old entertained and safe and being free from the desire to try and get the best shot possible of every photo opportunity is strangely liberating, even if its not the mode of choice.

Due to the aforementioned night away, we arrived at midday to find parking in a field, being well directed by visible staff. Parking was still very close to the entrance and ticket booths. The ticket queue was significant with about 20 minutes waiting until we got our hands on our tickets. Ticket prices are reasonable with adults paying about £10 each (add £2 if you want access to the Castle included in your entry) and children £6 with under fives free.

The gardens are very well kept with interesting hedge designs that even children will admire. There is plenty to wander about and do and adventurous youngsters will have no end of places to explore. The water maze is small and easy to solve, but that’s not really the point. Having sat and watched many kids enjoy it, having fun and getting wet seems to be the order of the day rather than engage in stimulating challenge.

The Castle is interesting and very informative with some spectacular artifacts on display and plenty to learn if you are weak on the history of Anne Boleyn. However the whole experience is feels rushed due to the way in which the Castle rooms are sectioned off and you are routed through in a specific way. There are probably some good reasons why this is done, but I much prefer to wander if a more random fashion and spend my time in rooms that catch my interest without being conscious that I am getting in the way of a queue of people behind me. Over half an hour should be allowed for this tour, just hope that the young one with you does not need a loo break halfway round. The really big downside to the Castle visit is the queue to get in, we didn’t see it reduce at all over the lunch period and when we joined it the wait was over half an hour before we started the tour. I think that adding an extra cost to the castle visit means people feel they must do the tour to get the full value from their ticket and since the relative increase in cost is small, people feel they may as well pay the extra, the result being the huge queues experienced. Hever have made a mistake doing this and they should have a single price for everything.

The birds of prey display was not up to the standard of that experienced by us 2 weeks prior at Warwick Castle and some occasional sound issues further compounded the disappointment. This is a shame because I can never tire of watching birds of prey climb and swoop, be it in the wild or at a show. It was clear that the majority of people were there for the Cheetah display and having a Cheetah out in the open air to run for crowds and raise awareness of the plight of Cheetahs in the wild is a great idea. The Cheetah on display was a young Cheetah and it was obvious we were not going to see a spectacular example of a Cheetah at high speed. Judging by the reaction of many in the crowd, not everyone appreciated this subtlety and obviously expected far more than they saw.

Refreshments:
The restaurant on site was massively over subscribed, thankfully we had enjoyed a huge breakfast beforehand and didn’t need to break for lunch. The grounds offer many places to enjoy a family picnic and thanks to the close proximity of the car parks, sending dad back to the car to collect lunch is a very real possibility.

In Summary:
Definitely worth the visit and somewhere I will visit again.

Warwick Castle – August 2008

It was a lovely Saturday morning in August when my wife and I visited Warwick Castle with our young daughter. We had planned a weekend with friends and Warwick Castle was on the way.

The Castle is easy to get to by car, well signposted and the car park is large. The walk from the car park to the Castle entrance was longer than we expected and little daughter was asking to sit on shoulders before we even arrived at the ticket booths. Signs in the car park reminding you that you need to purchase a £2 token to exit raise the cost of visiting the castle.

Fortunately for us, a friend had a get in free voucher for one adult and with darling daughter getting in free as an under 4, our entry cost was significantly less that we would have paid otherwise. We felt that the full entry cost was been higher than we would have been happy to pay, but since we were only paying the entry cost of 1 full adult, we were very happy with the price that we paid for entry. My opinion is that the cut-off age for children getting free entry is too low. Paying close to £10 entry for a 4yo is too much. Paying for the tickets also became rather confusing, on arriving at the ticket booths there is a clear sign for a ticket booth which takes cash only. It wasn’t long before a group of people crowded together wondering how they were going to pay for entry as alternative payment points were not obvious. It wasn’t until a member of staff pointed out that we all had to go through the arches to the Castle entrance for more ticket booths, which would take other payment methods. Quite why the tickets booths are separated like that is a mystery and while, in hindsight its obvious now that one must go through the arches into the entry courtyard, for a first time visitor it is slightly confusing.

Entry and ticket costs were the only disappointments of the day, once we and had entered the castle grounds it was fun and distraction all the way. We really did enjoy our day there and the Medieval experiences that went on were good fun for children and adults.

Arriving at 10am was definitely the right thing to do as it enabled us to wander unimpeded on the castle walls and around the rooms. Later in the day, specifically the afternoon, the queues to for these were significant and would probably hamper the enjoyment somewhat, especially with a toddler in tow. Staff on hand in the rooms were helpful and informative and seeing them in period dress added to the value factor. We estimated that at about 2pm the number of people on site was three times the number who were about shortly after we arrived, yet the grounds did not feel crowded and there was still plenty of room to wander about freely. There were noticeable queues at the food stall and to get onto the castle wall.

The entertainment on display was good with well choreographed fights and amusing incidentals. It made for good entertainment for the whole family.

The trebuchet on site claims to be the largest in the world and is certainly an impressive site. We managed to miss the firing of it, which is a shame as it was something I would have really liked to have seen.

The day we visited included a birds of prey display which was well presented, informative and hugely enjoyable with spectacular flights from the birds.

Refreshments:
For lunch we bought burgers from a stand, one of several on site, and picnicked on the lawn. There are table you can eat at and there is a restaurant with children’s menu available. Eating early is advised as the queues build up. Taking in your own food means having to carry it from the car park (note the walk length) which, unless you have a pushchair to put it in, you may not wish have with you all day.

In Summary:
Definitely worth the visit and somewhere I will visit again, though I will try to avoid paying full price again as well.