Alnwick Castle - Home of Hogwarts! (Alnwick Castle)

Member Name: AmyAmy

Product:	Alnwick Castle
Date:	20/12/07 (417 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: entertaining, spacious, giftshop, interactive

Disadvantages: not always child - friendly

::INFORMATION::
Alnwick Castle is one of the largest inhabited castles to be found in England. Surprisingly enough, it can be located in Alnwick, Northumberland.
Opening Times:
2nd April - 28th October
10am to 6pm

Admission prices vary for entering Alnwick Castle
-Adult - £9
-Concession - £8
-Child - £4 (under 5's are free!)
Special family tickets can also be purchased at £24. This admits two adults into the castle, and up to four children.
As well as this, weekly tickets can be purchased, ranging from £5 to £32, and Season tickets, from £18 to £50!

Alnwick Castle is quite a popular location, used frequently for the use of filming. The most popular recent film, I'd say, are the Harry Potter films, a great favourite of mine. Popular television shows such as The Virgin Queen, and Bloody Britain, have be shot here.


You can contact Alnwick Castle with any enquiries you have via email: enquiries@alnwickcastle.com
More information can be found at www.alnwickcastle.com


::MY ADVENTURE::
We piled into the car at around half past nine, ready to take a trip out to Alnwick Castle, or to me - home of Harry Potter! I had been wanting to go for years now, and I was finally getting to! With me, a bit squished in the back of the car, in between my younger brother and sister, we set off (and a car journey which lasted nearly an hour with my siblings - not the most enjoyable thing in the world!)

Arriving at Alnwick at half ten, my muscles were a bit too relaxed after the journey, but they soon woke up by the time we walked to the entrance to pay admission fees. The pricing for a family ticket works as follows; 2 adults and up to 4 children is £24 (under 5s are free). When we walked through, the guy behind the desk went "2 and 2 and an under 5. £24!" and charged us for a family ticket! Well, I never! He immediately assumed that I was 14 (or under!) I just wanted to turn round and shout "Hello! I'm 15! Do I look like a kid?!" but I didn't. Besides, we would have been charged more if I did! I'd say the admission fees are fairly reasonable, if you visit once in a while!
After purchasing our tickets, we walked through the arch and into the first section. In front of me was a rack of medieval clothes, which if I remember rightly, you could pay 50p to try them on. Unfortunately, we never did But nevertheless, we carried on walking around until we came to this large wooden cabinet thing, with loads of darkened holes on the front, covered with bristles. You had to put your hand into each compartment and feel around to see what was stored inside! The first hole I put my hand into, I screamed! I had touched something soft and warm, it felt like a rat! But it turned out to be deerskin. How disgusting! I cannot be certain if it was fake or not, but god I do hope so! There was also a 'rat' in there too! But if you peered through the bristles, you could see it was the most comic looking teddy rat in the world!

We walked a little further round this section, and came to this 'box'. If you swivelled round a white disc, it revealed a little spy hole. Looking in, you could see a 'dummy' of a really scraggly guy sitting on a toilet seat, and my god it stank! I didn't sniff it properly, but the smell that drifted out was revolting enough! In that room, there were also stocks! I made my stepdad try them out first, and he did look hysterical! Then, it was my turn! They were so small, even for me! It was quite a weird experience being put in the stocks, thank goodness there was no rotten fruit about...!

We went outside after this, to get to another 'museum' type room which was full of cases and displays or war things, and a few 'dummies' too! To get up to these displays, you had to climb up spiral stairs - very narrow they were! My brother was a bit scared coming down. Me, I loved it! You'd walk down...and down...and down, not being able to see when they ended! It gave me such a rush! I could imagine myself being in some sort of haunted castle in a horror movie!
After this we went onto the 'wall walk'! You had to climb up some stairs (this time, they were not as daring!) to get to the top of this massive 'wall' you could walk across! All along were arrow-slit windows; some standard and some in the shape of the England flag. You could see for miles on this wall! And on the field across from the castle, people were getting ready to do some sort of sponsored walk!

We went to the dungeons part next, but they weren't really what I had expected! There was just one small room, with a bench, and some metal things attached to the wall! But that was all we could see. On the floor, there was a metal grid, and if you looked down, it was pitch black, but I could make out some ladders there, so maybe it was a passageway down to the 'real' dungeons! I would love to have gone down there!
Once we came back from looking at some Archery thing, we stopped on the grass for a bite to eat. During this time, we spotted a little black and white cat that had wandered into the castle grounds. Well, I guess they would have had cats in the 'olden days' too!

After this, we went to see the Stay Rooms. No photography or mobiles were allowed in this part of the castle. Oh My, the guy who 'greeted' us when we first walked in did not make a very good 'first impression'! Ok, so it was a posh, pricey part of the castle, but there was no need to treat us like dirt! Looking around, everybody in this part appeared to be really snooty and 'up themselves'. We went into the Library section first, and I can honestly say I was gob smacked! There were shelves upon shelves of books! Surprisingly, there was even a table sort of thing with alcohol and water on it! There were a few old photos dotted around but there was also some modern photos, which I think spoilt it! We moved onto the Dining Room, where there was a massive table, and loads of shiny, golden coloured plates etc. Given the chance, I wouldn't like to eat there, the atmosphere wasn't the greatest! After this room, we approached the final: the China Room! Well, it was more like a long corridor! On the walls were cases and cases filled with china plates. There was literally hundreds of them! And they were hardly exciting!
When we got out of that part of the castle, we went to have a cup of tea. While I was waiting for mine to cool, I had a browse in the gift shop! That was so fun! They had loads; stationary, sweets, cups, toys...! I bought a postcard (40p) and a keyring (£1.50). They both say Alnwick Castle on them. There was a special Harry Potter section in there too, with loads of merchandise, all at high prices!
I went back to my cup of tea, and by this time it had cooled down! It came in a pale brown cup, those which are made of that sort of thick paper material. The tea tasted quite bitter, but not undrinkable! I suppose I can't moan, it's not as if I went all that way just for a decent cuppa!

I was quite surprised at the lack of 'Harry Potter' information that was given, as I assume since the films were made, the tourism would most likely have risen a touch!
You could also get guided tours round the castle, but we didn't bother. No need! I think it is a lot more fun to go around by ourselves, at our own pace!

*****
If I could go back to Alnwick Castle, I would! It really is an amazing place! Though I did not really spot any of it which was used for the Harry Potter films! If you have not visited the Castle yet, I recommend you do!


(you can also find me on Ciao under the name Amy69)

Summary: Exploring a magical, historical land...