Its not a castle! (Penrhyn Castle)

Member Name: emmakate06

Product:	Penrhyn Castle
Date:	03/06/09 (12 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lovely grounds, nice stately home, interesting

Disadvantages: very limited for younger children

I recently visited Penrhyn Castle with my husband and 3 children, two of whom are under the age of 2 and are therefore in a double buggy. We decided to visit Penrhyn Castle after picking up a leaflet regarding the property. The advertising leaflet states that it is suitable for all ages, and that there is something for everyone. I actually really disagree with this statement and we were left very disappointed with our visit.

Firstly, the first thing I should point out is that Penrhyn Castle isnt actually a castle and is in fact a stately home. It is a beautiful property located on the outskirts of Bangor, North Wales and is conveniently located a short distance away from the main A55 road.

On arriving at the property, you enter the grounds and pay at a kiosk situated at the beginning of a large drive. Once you have paid at the kiosk or produced your national trust card you are then provided with a further leaflet. Once we had parked up, I began to read through the leaflet and on the back page I noticed that it then stated that pushchairs were not allowed in the property. Apparently this is standard for all National Trust properties, but having never visited one before I was unaware of this and there was no mention of this at all on the original advertising leaflet. Now they do provide you hip belts on request so that you can carry your child around the property instead, however this was unsuitable for myself due to suffering from SPD which is a pelvic condition affecting the pelvis and lower back and it is certainly impossible for me to carry a toddler on my hip because of this. Therefore the only choice we had was to walk around the property individually whilst one of us waited outside with the children. This took away the fact that we wanted to enjoy the property as a family and left us very disappointed.

The grounds are very beautiful and you are welcome to explore these whilst visiting. Again though, the terrain in some places was unsuitable for a pushchair and so left us restricted as to where we could explore. In addition it was also impossible for us to get the pram into the gift shop or the restaurant also. Our double buggy isnt even large, and given the restricted access I personally think that only prams the size of the quinny or the take off pushchair would fit in these areas.

There is also an adventure playgroud, however this is only suitable for older children. There is nothing for toddlers, no swings, slides etc. Given there advertisement that there is something for all the family, I personally feel that there is nothing suitable for under 5's at all.

Throughout the year there are also many events which take place, especially thoughout the summer holidays. An up to date list is available off the National Trust website and in addition they also sometimes hold additional exhibitions within the grounds.

The entry for the property is £9 per adult and £4.50 per child. Alternatively a family ticket can be purchased for 2 adults and 2 children for £22.50.

I did have a quick glance in the restaurant after my solo trip around the property and was actually quite disgusted in the prices of the food. How an establishment can charge £5.50 for a jacket potato is beyond me. This was just for a baked potato might I add, if you wanted a filling then that would be an extra 50p!

Overall, it is a lovely property, but probably more suited to couples or families with older children. I would also suggest that you take a picnic with you as opposed to paying the extortionate cafe charges.

Summary: A nice place to visit but pricey