Knight’s Village at Warwick Castle Review – Staying in a Knight’s Lodge

knights lodgeLast weekend the family and I whizzed off for a mini break full of Medieval fantasy and Knightly charm. Sit back and enjoy our Knight’s Village at Warwick Castle review complete with a mini video tour of a Knight’s lodge!

Staying on a weekend in the middle of the Summer holidays at a hugely popular tourist destination might seem a bit mad but that’s the beauty of Warwick Castle, no matter how busy it is (and it was!) there’s always plenty to see with outdoor displays such as falconry or jousting and most of the indoor areas require no queueing. There’s also the brand new outdoor Horrible Histories maze which is definitely worth a visit. To see some of our favourite attractions take a look at some of my previous posts.

horrible history maze

Checking In

The Knight’s Village has its own dedicated parking area within the large main car park which is brilliant if you’ve just had a long drive. Check in is technically from 3pm but every overnight stay comes with two days entry to the castle so it’s worth getting there early and checking your bags in at reception so you can enjoy a full day of fun. The Knights village also has its own priority entrance into the castle which means no queues!

jousting warwick castle

After a long hot day we were all very tired as we bumbled back to the village. We were met at the gate where staff asked for our name and immediately gave us our lodge’s keycard (no waiting at reception as we’d arrived early).

The Knight’s Lodges

Inside the lodge

The lodges are all semi-detached buildings hosting up to 5 guests in two bedrooms plus an en-suite wet room. Note. There are larger lodges available for bigger parties.

Every lodge boasts an outdoor deck with medieval style bench. Ours faced straight towards an open area with huge trees and a large wooden wagon, it was perfect for keeping an eye on the kids as they played.

Each lodge has a theme of either Archer or Falconer, ours was a Falconers and was decorated with Falconry equipment hanging on the wall.

knights village at night

The interior decoration is wonderful and really enhances the experience of staying by the castle, it also seems to excite children exponentially! The beds are also really really comfy.

On a personal note I was impressed with the Elemis toiletries in the bathroom and having the wet room to wash off my grimy mini knights definitely helped!

Take a look at just how great the lodges our in this mini video tour.

The Entertainment

knights village entertainment

To be honest the kids hardly needed any extra entertainment. The Knight’s Village was pretty full and it seemed that every child was out of their lodges/tents and making friends. Our three immediately knew the names of every child staying nearby and at every available opportunity they were all outside playing. It was a huge gathering of miniature knights and princesses and they all had a fantastic time and didn’t want to leave their new friends.

knights lodge wagon

As for the organised entertainment there’s have a go archery (with long bows) which is amazing!

Knight’s Training Camp which all the children loved!

There’s even a school for Jesters!

vird of prey experience

We also paid a little extra (the rest of the activities are free) to get up close and personal with a bird of prey experience where we got to fly some of the castles falcons. This has to be my favourite activity as I’ve always wanted to try it.

Food

knights villagefood
We didn’t eat in the Knight’s Village, instead opting to walk into Warwick for Fish and Chips but the staff were supremely helpful even providing a map and recommendations.

In the morning breakfast was an all you can eat buffet with continental and cooked options, fruit, cereals and even freshly cooked pancakes. I love breakfasts like this because they suit everyone no matter how picky.

Could our stay have been improved in anyway?

falconry warwick castle

I could only think of teeny tiny mini niggles but here goes.

The Lodge only had two mugs inside – considering that it will almost exclusively be families staying it seems a bit bizarre to only provide two of the guests with drinking facilities. Kids get thirsty quickly and access to a glass of water would have been helpful. Thankfully we’d taken bottles with us. However I’m sure you could request extra cups from reception as we requested soya milk and extra teabags and were immediately accommodated. I just think they ought to be there as standard really.

If you find you can’t get the TV to work (we couldn’t at first) it’s probably because of the fabulous gold frame around the outside, a quick change of position solves this though.

Would I recommend staying in the Knight’s Village?

Most definitely, it was more than just a stay, it was a real experience and one which we will all remember. The kids are asking to go back and I think visiting during a busy time when there are lots of other little ones to play with is actually an unexpected bonus. From a parents point of view it’s great to be able to sit on your deck watching the kids with a cup of tea and let them have that little bit of independence while keeping a close eye.

We have always loved the castle anyway and there’s more than enough to fill two days, so staying overnight really enhances your visit. It actually allowed us to take a leisurely pace and really enjoy all the exhibits rather than rushing about trying not to miss anything.

Details

For more information pop over to Warwick Castle’s website

Eggnogg Colouring Review!

eggnogg logoEggnogg.co.uk create products that allow children to have fun and fuel their imagination. The brand is the inspiration of former TV graphic designer, Kate Edmunds, who became a full-time illustrator after the birth of her children. Greatly influenced by Tim Burton, Kate has always loved writing and illustrating her own children’s stories, conjuring up weird and wonderful characters. Her love of textiles is a bit of an obsession which she also incorporates into her designs.

Eggnogg.co.uk has grown from developing a range of greeting cards to keeping little people busy with a unique range of colour-in products. The products have a no-nonsense attitude that both children and adults adore. The bold designs allow for scribbles to find their way between the lines, helping challenge the senses through colour, texture and humour.

When I was first asked to review some Eggnogg products I had a bit of a mixed reaction, my kids love to colour and be creative but how can paper products hold up to the rigour of a child’s play?

We received four products from the Eggnogg range:

Knights and Maidens Tablecloth
Colour-in Cape
Girls Rule Colour in Poster
Boys Rule Colour in Poster

Girls/Boys Rule Posters

These posters retail at £4.99 for the two and I have to admit I think that’s overpriced. Don’t misunderstand me, my kids loved colouring in these posters and it kept them creatively occupied for quite a long time, however the price just seems too high. I have probably been influenced by the large quantity of free posters we have picked up from shopping centres, banks, national trust properties etc this summer. From free to nearly five pounds is a big leap. Each poster is just slightly larger than a3 size.

On a positive note they definitely keep children occupied and happy for quite sometime and the end result is worthy of displaying on their walls, so if the price doesn’t put you off then you’ll love this product.

Colour-in Cape

I have mixed feelings about this cape as well. My youngest son was so excited when this arrived and enthusiastically began colouring. Unfortunately he has a short attention span when colouring and it took several sessions to finish, this meant the paper became a bit creased.

When he finally had it on, he adored it! Then it fell off 🙁 The cape attaches using Velcro dots stuck to the paper and to your own clothing, the dots on clothing just didn’t seem happy to stay put. The mask and cuffs stayed in place as they were stuck together with selotape. So from a design point of view a fixing that was a little more reliable and able to cope with running, jumping and general play would be my preference, we ended up having to use safety pins.

As a concept I think this is fabulous for little ones, be prepared for tears when it inevitably rips though. My son loved his cape and for that reason alone I would consider buying this item again.

Knights and Maidens Tablecloth

I saved the best until last! I love this item, it’s hours and hours of creative fun for the whole family and when you’re finished you could put it up on the wall if you don’t want to use it. We’ve still not finished this and it’s kept boredom at bay for quite a few days. It’s perfect for lazy afternoons with the whole family scribbling away.

I think the tablecloth would really come into it’s own at parties or family gatherings when there are several children you need to keep busy and out of trouble. I would most definitely buy another in such a situation.

Would I recommend these items?

Yes and No. I still believe that the posters are overpriced and I think the attachments for the cape aren’t the best, however the tablecloth gets a huge thumbs up!

Could they be improved in anyway?

Personally I think the posters should be a free item when you spend X amount on other products.

I think the cape needs better attachments to make it more secure.

The tablecloth is perfect as it is 🙂

Details

Visit Eggnogg’s website for more of their products www.eggnogg.co.uk

They are also on Facebook and Twitter.