A Harry Potter Fans Dream (Alnwick Castle)

Member Name: scotlandizdabest

Product:	Alnwick Castle
Date:	24/07/08 (253 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent attraction, fun, educational

Disadvantages: Fairly Pricey

It's great to have lots of things to do in the holidays. It's the summer and parents all over the UK are having to find stuff for their little darlings (or devils) to do. So if you are in the Scottish Borders or Northumberland at all in the Summer Holidays then this really is the place for you.

History Behind Alnwick Castle
Alnwick castle is one of the biggest castles, that is lived in, in England. The first parts of the castle was built in 1096 making some of the castle more than 900 years old. It was originally designed to stop enemies getting to Alnwick and behond. Also to house the Baron of Alnwick safely. So the castle had to have strong defences of course, so over the next hundred years built more castle and exceptionally strong walls against enemies.
It was over taken by William The Lion (King Of Scotland) however with huge numbers lost. The castle was damaged but William resided there, until he was overthrown and taken prisoner. 100 years later in the 14th century Lord Percy takes Alnwick castle as his own and begins restoring it to live in, and give better defences. Over the next 100 years the castle and county is affected by the plague which kills almost a third of people in Europe. Alnwick did not miss out with around 300 killed.
Back to the battles, Scots had taken Berwick Castle and Lord Percy, now Earl of Northumberland had to do something. So he decided to go up to Alnwick and kill every Scot (As a Scot I find this very sad...) So Scotland got it's revenge by burning down a lot of Alnwick.
The bloody history of Alnwick continues as the 7th and 8th Earls of Northumberland are beheaded for Catholic beliefs and the other sent to tower of London. Lovely...
The 9th Earl is the one I find most interesting however. He had the nickname "Wizard Earl" because he loved making potions and science. He was interested in many 'magic' attibutes including Astonomy, Plants (Botany) and using unusual 'spells' to do things. He was not interested in running Alnwick castle, so left it to a cousin, who was then involved in the Guy Falkes bombing of parliament plot. Oh dear...
After lots of family problems, the castle became inhabited for 100 years as it was just in such decay. It was restored eventually and the Earls, now changed their title to Duke and Duchess of Northumberland. No more battles, the bloody decades had ended and civilisation took over. The 3rd duchess of Northumberland became the governess of Queen Victoria where she taught her and her siblings everything.
In the 20th century the castle played a huge part in both world wars. It became an emergency college for teachers and nurses, as there was a sever shortage. It played host to many women who used the land for the war effort. It was a vital factor in the Northumberland war effort.
In 1950 it was opened to the public and was very successful. It has not changed, and still has original features all over. It has been used to film such movies as Elizabeth, and most famously the 1st Harry Potter film.

Getting There
After deciding to go there we had to figure out how to get there. I have been to Alnwick around 4 times and live around 40 miles away. So after putting all the family on side to go to a day trip there we headed off. We came from the Edinburgh road and followed the A1 to Alnwick. It was very easy to follow signs and we just followed and we were in Alnwick in no time.
When you get there, you can't really miss it. We followed a sign and it took us through the town centre which took a while to get through. You then head towards the car park which was full to the brim with cars. So had to wait around 5 minutes and we eventully got a space. Parking there costs just £3 for the whole day which is a fantastic price, as it costs that to get around 2 hours in a city. You then walk in through the gates and there you are. The castle is so high you can see it from all over Alnwick.

Price To Get In
After getting there you head to a lovely red box to pay for your ticket in. I was with my parents and brother plus two other friends. You can buy a day pass, week pass or season pass. As were were only there for the day we chose day pass.
Adult- £10.50
Concession (Student, OAP, Carer etc) - £9.00
Child (Under 15) - £4.50 (Children under 5 go free!)
I found this quite pricey to get in. I got a concession as I am over 15 but am a student so just showed my pass and got in. It ended up costing £43.50 to get in!!! For 2 adults, a concession and three under 15's. It is quite a lot of money but you get to browse the castle and grounds all day. I would have expected it to be a bit cheaper and did find it a bit pricey. Weekly passes cost more at around £15.00 for adult and season at £22.50.
I saw someone use a season pass, they just walk there dog on the grounds which I thought was a good idea. You get unlimited use of the castle and grounds so a good idea for more local people.

Getting Started On Browse
We bought a map for £2 which was very detailed and helpful. We headed off on a direct path to the castle and was amazed by the view and vast size of the actual castle. There were lots of other tourists of all different nationalities, getting their photos taken next to the castle and in the grounds. When you eventually reach the huge doors of the castle you get asked to for your ticket. You are informed you will be asked for your ticket when you enter the state rooms. Never found out why? But anyway continued straight in and figured out what to see first. Everything is easily sign posted and even so, you are left gawping at the sheer size of the castle and what it may have looked like hundreds of years ago.

State Rooms
We decided to try out the State Rooms first. These are the public rooms of the house which is still lived in by the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland. Obviously they don't include bedrooms or private rooms but it does give an excellent insight into what a traditional grand county house is like. You first of enter a exceptionally grand sitting room with beautiful ornaments. As you tour around these bright grand rooms, you get to see some magnificent objects and paintings. There is a mirror I was very fond of about 15ft tall. All my mum could say was how long would it take to clean?
Anyway you get to the dinning room which has played host to the queen and many other royal guests. The amount of knifes and forks are amazing, and i'm just talking about around one plate! The table is so long, it is an amazing site into how royal eat and dine. You go though a drawing room which has amazing paintings of past owners of the castle. Then to my favourite room, the library. I couldn't stop aweing at the amount of books and trophies. A great site to see reminded me of Hogwarts a lot.

Knights/Dragons Quest
We headed off to a kids section called Knights Quest (or Dragons) as it was recommended in the leaflet and map to try it out. We walked past the gift shop and restraunt, which looked really good. We got there and were amazed to find you could just run in and give everything a try. We first started out with a mirror illusion, where you stuck you head through a box and looked like you were a floating head.
Very funny and got a lot of great pictures from it.
We then had many various activities which included dressing up in some fantastic costumes (even I did), fighting knights, being scared by a guy on the toilet (have to see it to believe it), seeing a dragon and much more amazing things.
We were in there for around an hour trying different things. There was so much to do for anyone of any age. All around were children and adults laughing, and it really was good fun. Also it is in the courtyard were Harry Potter let Hedwig go in the snow, making it that extra bit special! An excellent part to the castle and really good fun.
We walked out and headed directly into Dragons quest. We hadn't got what we bargained for when we went in. You start off going through a door and you are immediately looking at hundreds of light up (fairly realistic) skulls. You walk in and I ended up screaming as a skelton jolted unexpectantly. That was really funny! We continued where we went through a tunnel of skulls then at the end, another innocent looking skelton jumped at us! I must have jumped 100 feet in the air! So we continued and got to a huge monster in a cage. We went in and touched it and as soon as we did it started to laugh loudly (making me jump yet again another 300 feet) and it was actually a very nice monster, who said sorry for scarring us. We then headed out extremely quickly but that was really excellent fun!

Restaraunt
After all the running about (and screaming!) of Knights and Dragons quest we were hungry. It was after lunchtime so decided to go to the restraunt which was right next door, only a couple of steps basically, You could choose if you would like to go to the cafe or the main restraunt. We were hungry so headed towards restraunt. We got lovely seats up the top so had a a great view. The rooms were done in a medival theme with swords and dragons everywhere. It was all good fun.
We did however have to wait around 15 minutes to order but it was a busy time and we were kept amused by the surroundings. The menus were great, there was an excellent selection for children (especially picky ones) and for adults. I had a Burger with salad as a treat. The waiter was very helpful and even gave us a wee smile which was nice.
After around 10 minutes our food was on the table, which was very quick and I was very impressed. The food was very good, not Gordon Ramsay obviously but great finger food to have as a treat. Really filled us up and paid a very good price at around £5 per head including drinks.

Gift Shop
Even though we hadn't see the grounds yet we went into the gift shop which is right next door to knights quest. On entering you are confronted with hundreds of weird and wonderful gifts. I saw in the left hand corner of the long shop, a huge Harry Potter display selling everything from scarves to collectables. Other parts of the shop include everything from wizarding equipement (wands, spell books, potions etc) Then fairies which are lovely to look at but quite pricey. Then young girls things like unicorns, magic bags and pink wands. For boys there are knights toys including soft swords, armour, bows and arrows and much more.
They have a selection of printed gifts saying "Alnwick Castle" on pens, bouncy balls etc. There really is a fantastic selection of gifts and something for everyone. The prices are reasonable but like any other gift shop it could be a little less expensive but the items we got were good quality. I ended up getting a Harry Potter badge, some pens and a quill (which I love!) which all came to under £5 which was very good.

Grounds
After we left the gift shop we started to explore the grounds. This mattered a wee bit more to me most as this is the Harry Potter theme of the trip. We thought we should get a tour however the last one had left 10 minutes before so decided to do our own thing. We left part of the castle and was surrounded by castle walls and the next part of the castle infront of us. We walked around and was amazed at everything. We headed into the Constables tower which had steep steps to get up and fairly high up. There we saw men (plastic) dressed up in war ware and you got to see what they would have had to do. There one was guy we sat beside on a window, who was spying in case of a secret enemy attack. Really interesting and actually educational at the same time.
We kept heading a long and went into another tower which had lots of archaelogical finds in it. It was amazing to look at all the real old swords, armour, pots etc they had found and dug up from different areas of the castle. It gave good information, and not to much so enough for children to look at.
We continued along the walls and got to someone doing archery. 2 of the kids we were with were from the city and had never had a go at it before so we thought why not. I didn't give it a try as I had done it at school, so didn't fancy it. We did have to pay £2 for it per person which was a little annoying but the instructor was very good and calm. They seemed to really enjoy it and it was open to everyone over 8 years. An excellent experience and good fun to watch. No one from our group got a bulls eye however.

Harry Potter Grounds
We had reached the end of the wall so headed through the smaller doors (still around 15ft high) and into another courtyard. This was plesently familiar. It had been used in the filming of the first and second Harry Potter movies. It was great to see and there was a huge board were it had "Your First Flying Lesson" which made us realise we were standing in the exact spot were Harry and his friends had filmed the first time they had been on a broomstick. It was a pretty cool feeling thinking you are standing in the footsteps of your favourite actors (in my case!) and we took lots of photos.
We followed the grounds and were able to figure out were each scene was filmed (making it more of a game, an idea for kids) which was great. We saw the very statue where Neville had got his cloak stuck when his broom went haywire. Also were Harry and Wood stood and explained about quiddich. Amazing for a die-hard Harry Potter fan like myself. Amazing site to see for any fan.

Heading Off
We had spent a good 4 and a half hours there and after getting there at 11 o'clock it was not half three. We had to go as we needed to be home for 5 to get our friends home. It was very easy to go, you can just walk off when you are done. So we walked back along the exceptionally long path and looking back at the sheer size of the building. We were able to find our car easily and get through Alnwick quickly (even at almost 4 o'clock) which was good. We could still see the castle for a while, along the road!

What's Right With It
First off, in the summer holidays it is something to do for children which they will love (Especially if Harry Potter fans) and something that is as much for kids as it is adults. I loved the castle and found it very interesting and fascinating to look around. It is quite a magical castle (traditionally it has hosted REAL WIZARDS there) which makes it that little bit different. I could see all around smaller children amazed at the magic and girls marvelling at the unicorn statues, etc.
The childrens exhibits are exceptional and so much fun for everyone. I can't stress enough how much of a family attraction it is, and really seems to bring the family more toghether. Also there are many kids running about so making them tired... so they sleep!
The castle is very clean and in excellent condition. If you like looking around then I would recommend the state rooms which are outstanding and very interesting to look at all the items. Everything is right about the castle- Location, history, exhibits, fun-ness and so much more. Excellent castle overall.

What's Wrong With It
Two things I would say about the castle. First it is a little pricey to go. To get in is quite a lot of money, and then you have the gift shop and restaraunt. They are just a little more pricey then they could be (£1.20 for a pencil for example) and could do to be just a wee bit cheaper. Another thing I noticed was the the amount of toilets avalible. They are quite far apart and since the castle is quite big it is a little difficult if you are in the middle of the castle. There are ones at the restraunt and ones at the other side of the castle. But they were in excellent condition however.

Conclusion
I've tried to stress that this is an excellent castle to visit if you are visiting the area or, like me from the area but have never been. If you don't have kids it is still excellent fun but children will adore it and talk about it for weeks. I found it fun and i'm 16! The castle is an excellent attraction and it is a great day out for all. Would recommend to anyone who is in area and please make a visit if you can as you won't regret it.

Janie x

©scotlandizdabest

Summary: If in Northumberland Go Along... NOW!