Visiting Warwick Castle with kids

When I was planning our 10 day trip to the United Kingdom, one of my top goals was to make sure we got to sleep in a castle! I ended up picking the Warwick Castle hotel and planning a full day there, it was one of the highlights of our trip. This is a very tourist-y, commercialized castle with a ton to do and see, perfect for busy kids! We visited in early October so crowds were low and the weather was chilled; keep in mind that during summer they have even more activities including live jousts.

I included this castle in my post about 25+ of the best castles to visit with kids around the world, go read it for more inspiration!

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Visiting warwick castle with kids

Walking up to enter give you that classic, isolated castle feel. A few of the other ones I considered, felt like they were right in the middle of the city.

There is a lot to see on the castle grounds; you can walk the ramparts, and walk up around the edge in certain parts.

The working trebuchet was out of commission when we visited but I bet it is fun to see in action! Many of the activities required tickets (to hold spaces, not charge extra money), or do during busy times, so be sure to ask ahead of time and plan accordingly.

This is a side view of where the previous two photos were taken; that is the oldest part of the castle. The hike up has a bunch of informative signs about the building and its history.

You can tour inside the main castle as well in a few different chunks; here is the Great Hall.

There were intermittent staffers allowing for hands-on opportunities and mini history lessons, which my kids loved!

The nearby State Rooms are full of gilded, ornate art and furniture which is fun to peek at. Everything was nice and spacious, it didn’t feel nerve wracking with kids walking around.

I didn’t take a picture of the inside but another hit was visiting the Gaol! You can walk all the way down and see more, including the terrifying “oubliette” where the most unfortunate souls got kept in almost total darkness.

The Time Tower had a history video and interactive walkthrough with exhibits like this one, showing what life was like back in the day. I didn’t take any pictures but they also had a “Princess Tower” with a fun interactive story time.

The falconry show here was superb! One of the best we’ve seen anywhere, with stories and a wide variety of birds flying every which way.

We also swung by the archery show, where we learned why Robin Hood’s depiction is illogical and watched an impressive display of bowmanship.

After being too young at Alnwick Castle to try archery, my kids were thrilled to get a chance to shoot here! The instructors were extremely patient and kind, it was a great experience.

A little ways outside the main castle grounds was a creative maze, based around the Horrible Histories series. You had to find all of the little informative stops and stamp/emboss your passport and then turned it in for something small at the gift shop, a little plastic button you can wear. It was one of the harder mazes we’ve done before and we had a good time exploring it!

I couldn’t find much information on the Warwick Castle Suites when I was deciding whether to splurge on staying ther eor not, so I’m happy to answer any questions you have in the comments! It is one main room, with a separate shower room, bathroom, and private exit to a neat little balcony connected to the other rampart systems. They had two cots for the kids but I’m a softie and let them sleep in the fancy bed with us! A television would rise up out of that dresser with a button, and while we didn’t try it, the fireplace was pretty.

This is the Rose Suite; there is only 1 other option and it is for 2 or fewer people.

Here’s a shot of both bathrooms. There was a towel heating rack, which felt very fancy!

Here’s a shot of where your room opens out on to! We got to go out there at night too, which was really neat.

Staying in the suite also gives you unlimited food, however everything shuts down around 4. We opted to go over to the nearby on property (but not included in the unlimited price) Knight’s Village for dinner and a show! The performers did an AMAZING job with the kids; they gave “knight lessons” and were so personable.

Then they finished with a show! It was very amusing and the food was decent.

As a part of your fancy pants stay, you get a private tour the next morning before it opens to the public. My knight obsessed kids had us going back to the armory with even more opportunities to try things on and ask face to face questions.

It was by far the most expensive hotel stay we’ve ever indulged in, but once you factor in 2 meals and the fun activities it wasn’t that unreasonable. Definitely an experience worth indulging in, but if you’re on a tighter budget they also have a knight’s village lodge and some adorable glamping tents when it is warm enough outside. This castle was an absolute blast to visit and I highly recommend it!