Visited June 2008

Location	Watermouth, Nr Ilfracombe
Entrance Fee	Yes - Check Website
Railway Station	No
Parking	Yes
Facilities	Toilets, Shop, Cafe, Picnic Tables, Museum, Play Park, Various Attractions
Map

Review

This was our first ever castle, and we really went the whole way and not only visited, but stayed for a week in the castle itself. There are six apartments in the castle available as holiday lets, ours had mini four-poster beds for the children, there is also an indoor heated swimming pool for exclusive use of the holiday guests. As a guest at the castle we were entitled to free entrance to the castle museum and grounds, however the castle is also open to day visitors. At this point I should mention that this castle is a Victorian folly, and it is operated as a museum and theme park. So while the exhibits in the house are interesting, the dungeons are actually just cellars, but the children found them scary all the same. There are beautifully manicured gardens, and some weird and wonderful exhibits in Gnome Land, lots of interactive fun for children as they press buttons to make the gnomes come to life.

The castle is set overlooking Watermouth Bay with its pretty harbour. The best bit about a day at this castle is that once you have paid the entrance fee, most of the attractions are free. There are fairground rides, a maze and a water show, which the kids loved. It is best for children up to about the age of 10, after that age they would probably be a little bored. The museum in the castle is full of nostalgic items, and probably takes between 40 minutes to an hour to look round. Our children were aged 3 & 6 and they loved the castle and amusements. As I said this was our first trip to a castle with the children, so having the amusements there was a good introduction as it meant there were other distractions if they got bored. I would recommend this type of day out if you have very young children as it gives them a bit of variety.

More info:  Watermouth Castle