This term at school, Jensen’s topic is “Once Upon A Castle” – which is amazing for us as a family because this summer we spent time at one of the most beautiful we’ve been to, Bodiam Castle. We were invited as ambassadors of Visit 1066 Country, and very excited to be exploring new territory!
Bodiam Castle is very different to Warwick Castle near where I grew up – and after we arrived on the steam railway and trekked along the road towards the entry to the castle grounds, we landed in the most delicious place – a tearoom!
The boys were ravenous after their exciting morning onboard the train, and we decided on a sunny spot to eat our lunches – the mister had a burger and the boys chose packed lunches, which included a packet of seeds to grow! I ordered a cream tea, which the wasps seemed to think was theirs as we sat surrounded by buzzing friends, keen to get a sugar rush from the raspberry conserve.
Bodiam Castle has a moat – like a real fairytale scene, it was scattered with wildflowers and butterflies, and we gazed into the water, watching the silvery fish flit and flap around after crumbs sprinkled into the water by guests. The boys were completely mesmerised as we wandered to the gatehouse and were presented with a special coin for entrance to the castle at the peak of the hill.
Jensen was greeted as “Sire” by each castle member that we encountered, as he wore his crown with great pride [which he insisted on wearing from the Jubilee celebrations] and was deeply impressed as he said they must recognise him.
In hindsight I really should have taken the pushchair but we were worried about fitting it onto the steam train, and so Baby Hero was carried in regal style around the castle grounds, and perched with a juicy apple and National Trust emblem sugar cookie whilst the boys ate lunch.
With full tummies, we trekked our way up the path to the castle. The boys ran ahead to see if there was a moat like they imagined, right around the castle – and there was. It was glorious, and the castle spectacular.
We explored the castle grounds, inside and out and in every nook we could discover. There were steps and stairs, battlements and balconies – and the boys loved the freedom to explore in a courtyard that was perfectly sized for family outings with little ones.
Naturally there’a always someone who wants to break the rules – a troublemaker who wants to climb the walls – and although it made for the sweetest photograph, I did get him down straight afterwards and remind him that moutaineering is not a good idea in castles.
My three kings of the castle posed very obligingly for me. A member of the castle staff told us that the Queen’s chair will be placed there too soon!
Seeing the stocks inside the courtyard bought back memories of my own childhood – I don’t think there’s anyone who doesn’t want to try them at least once! These ones only had leg holes unlike the normal stocks we were used to posing in.
We decided to rescue Jensen after all.
After the stocks we made our way through the other ground floor rooms – until Lyoto came upon the cooker, and wondered if there was anything still cooking in there. Apparently they ate hedgehogs according to him.
I’m more than happy to stay on the floor of any castle that we visit but naturally the boys want to be as high as they possibly can – and so up the twisty, dark staircases we clambered; and whilst I was busy panicking about being up so high – although Bodiam Castle is without a doubt one of the safest castles we have ever visited – Jensen and Lyoto were completely amazed to discover murder holes in the castle.
Whilst this was their favourite feature, I fell quite in love with the well at the castle. It felt like a spa during the scorching Summer sun and so still and calm.
After the murder holes, tucked away in the bedrooms of the castle, we found another type of hole. Baby Hero thought it was so funny that we were laughing at him perched on his own throne, enjoying a read.
Please excuse the quality of the photograph – this is my case in point for a better camera body :/ Anything over ISO400 and my camera doesn’t like it.
We took a little rest stop outside the castle walls to feast on ice creams and enjoy the view. Lyoto was lost in his own little world, watching the people come and go and laughing at the cheeky ducks ambling across the lawn.
Inside the grounds of the castle but outside the building itself were small wooden tents, which whilst selling wares made me feel as though I was back in the days of days of Robin Hood. I restrained myself from shouting “OO-de-lally”, as much as I wanted to – and if you’ve never seen Disney’s Robin Hood then you have no idea why I’d want to do that anyway.
The boys were enthralled by the coin striking and enchanted with the notion of making their very own money, and so they both took a turn and came away with shiny coins in their palms [after scaring the kindly stall owner with their varying abilities to wield a large, heavy hammer near his fingers].
Coins stowed safely in pockets, we wandered back down through the castle grounds to catch the last riverboat home. Our afternoon was definitely not long enough to explore and enjoy the castle – and so we’ll be back, Bodiam Castle – with a big picnic and a whole day to spend!
After a truly peaceful night in the Glisten dome, we decided to take a tour of Old Sarlat. Since beginning to study photography, it sounds so clichéd to say, but everywhere appears more beautiful now – colours, light, natural composition – and Old Sarlat, especially after buckets of rain, was exquisitely beautiful. We drove down…
Last week, Gavin had some days to use up from his holiday allocation at work and as it was (naturally) wet, windy and miserable, we decided on a whim to head out to the Blue Reef Aquarium. Our original plan was to go and see Mr. (Bad) Wolf at the Wildlife Park but alas, rain…
There have been ups and downs already this December – but one of the big ups has been a visit to Drayton Manor Park for their Magical Christmas experience. It was the last experience of the year as an ambassador and the boys had the most amazing time. We made a little Magical Christmas YouTube…
Call me Thomas, but despite my 37 years on this planet, for some reason I’ve never really actually believed that there were indeed dinosaurs on this planet. I’ve seen them in Ice Age, I’ve watched (and adored) Jurassic Park, Night at the Museum, even the Dinotopia TV series, but something about the whole T-Rex thing…
When I’d learned to read properly – and by properly I mean for the love of it, rather than because I was told to, the very first series I picked up and was immediately swept away by was Enid Blyton’s Famous Five. Tales of adventures on Kirrin Island and mysteries galore, and I was hooked….
When we were visiting Drayton Manor Park and Zoo last time, we were invited to visit the newly refurbished The Haunting attraction – and our boys, whilst quite terrified for the first five minutes, absolutely loved it. If you enjoy a good scare and you’ve visiting the park, make sure you take…
10 Comments
Awww your kids are so adorable! I can imagine how much fun it would be for them to explore the castle and experience all it has to offer. The beautiful photos says it all 😀 I have never been into a castle all my life so that would be so unforgettable and to know that the castle are preserved and it great conditions is really wonderful.
Love your pictures! I would so love to visit a castle one day. I have only been in the fake ones but a real one with the bones and structure..that is something I can't wait to see
What an amazing family day! I would love to take my kids to explore a castle like this, what an amazing experience for the kids to do. I think my son would be trying to climb the castle walls as well.
What a cool place to go exploring! I would love to take my kids on an adventure like that. The pictures alone are amazing, but I imagine the memories will be forever treasured by your little ones.
What a cool castle and your boys thought so too. I loved seeing the pictures and their smiling faces. I never been to a castle myself but the experience must be amazing. Glad you all had a fun time.
How amazing! As a child I was always fascinated with castles and all things surrounding that time in history. How wonderful to be able to experience something like this as a family!
I have never been to a castle unless you count fake ones. I would love to tour the inside. My little one would enjoy the long stretches of field to run in and the climbing.
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Awww your kids are so adorable! I can imagine how much fun it would be for them to explore the castle and experience all it has to offer. The beautiful photos says it all 😀 I have never been into a castle all my life so that would be so unforgettable and to know that the castle are preserved and it great conditions is really wonderful.
Love your pictures! I would so love to visit a castle one day. I have only been in the fake ones but a real one with the bones and structure..that is something I can't wait to see
Wonderful pictures! I have always been so interested in castles and history. This sounds like a great family getaway! Thanks for sharing it.
What an amazing family day! I would love to take my kids to explore a castle like this, what an amazing experience for the kids to do. I think my son would be trying to climb the castle walls as well.
These photos are gorgeous! Your kids look like they had a ton of fun! They're adorable.
What a cool place to go exploring! I would love to take my kids on an adventure like that. The pictures alone are amazing, but I imagine the memories will be forever treasured by your little ones.
Wow I've always wanted to check out a real, working castle! We just don't have these in Australia. I looked really cool 🙂
What a cool castle and your boys thought so too. I loved seeing the pictures and their smiling faces. I never been to a castle myself but the experience must be amazing. Glad you all had a fun time.
How amazing! As a child I was always fascinated with castles and all things surrounding that time in history. How wonderful to be able to experience something like this as a family!
I have never been to a castle unless you count fake ones. I would love to tour the inside. My little one would enjoy the long stretches of field to run in and the climbing.