Glamping at Warwick Castle

While investigating a Summer discount for castle tickets, I accidentally came across a new venture at Warwick Castle.
Glamping.
It didn't take long for me to get a bit excited.
Camping but posher. That's for me!
(We have a long and rather damp history with summer camping holidays in Cornwall & Wales).
Within a few days we'd booked all four of us & my sister's little family into one bell tent.
By the time I called, the day we booked was the only weekday still available.
It was £200 per night for a week night or £250 for a weekend, so we needed a weekday. For us, it was easier to use up 2 days holiday than find another £50.
Yay!
We were so excited.
I made all three little boys little tunics. I tried to make helmets too, but it didn't work out and at the time I was inundated with superhero cape orders so it wasn't top of my priority list.

Leaving at 7am, nope, 8am, in a rather full car.

So off we went. Nice and early so we could make the most of our two full days at the castle....but of course we were running an hour late.
With us driving down and my sister driving up with a baby, we didn't get into the castle until 12 ish. Never mind.

Ready to storm the castle.

One of many peacocks.

Cute baby ducks

Ed & Bean

Rowing a viking long boat.

Ed playing in the courtyard.

Watching the Warwick Warriors.

I'm the king! No! I'm the king!

Of course we had a lovely day. Warwick castle has a lot to offer, but mostly the boys (aged 5, 4 and 1) all enjoyed simply running free in the sunshine.

After watching the 'Sword in the stone' story, Bean shoved his wooden sword in the stone. Him, Ed and some random little boys had a whale of a time with it.

The Warwick Warriors were doing the same show (with all the same jokes) that they were doing last year, but the whole castle had been overrun with five different Horrible History's areas which were lots of fun.
And of course the trebuchet is just awesome. 
Every single time.

Watching the trebuchet from the top of the hill.

Ed trying on 
Norman armour.

Ed & Bean fighting with Auntie H.

The Glampsite was amazing.
It was just a small patch of woodland filled with little rows of bell tents. There was only about 35, so it felt really intimate and cosy. Each little area was adorned with it's own flag, presumably to help small people find their way to their tent. We had to go through what the number 30 (our tent number) looks like a few times before Ed & Bean stopped going into other people's tents.

The glampsite.

In the play area of the glampsite.

Our 'village' flag.

We had booked us all into the BBQ dinner, so after we'd stuffed ourselves silly, we headed out to the entertainment area. There were some giant games to play with as well as Jester school, Knight school and Archery. 

Archery practice.

We queued for a while for the archery because we all wanted to have a go, then Ed & Bean queued for Knight school. They thought it was amazing, but my husband & I couldn't help but feel a bit bad for the knights, who had obviously worked all day in the castle, only to have their working hours extended to 8:30pm. They were clearly shattered.

Knight school

I don't envy anyone who has to be nice to a child while he beats you with a sword all bloody day (yes, I speak of my own...at the
beginning of his turn in Knight school, Bean picked up two swords and ran at the poor guy. Thankfully, he has obviously dealt with this often enough, and corrected my little monster accordingly).

Dusk in the glampsite.

The tents and the whole camp were strewn with lights, so when darkness fell, the camp lit up.
It was beautiful.

The Glampsite really was fantastic, but, review wise, here's a few of my humble opinions;
-The staff are brilliant.
-Some of the toilet trailers ran out of water in their taps by the time we came to brush our teeth.
-There were just 3 showers because there was 3 trailers, each with one door (which didn't lock!), 2 showers inside, a bench & lots of space to dress. A 'family' shower room is a lovely idea, except if the other parent is with the kids in the tent. Then you're just one parent using a whole trailer to yourself with no lock on the door, just hoping no-one wanders in. Though I must say, I never queued - I got up at 7am and ran for my life.
-Some lovely child-friendly touches to the whole 'look' of the place. The flags, the sheepskin rugs, the hay bales, it all added to the feel of it. we even had a faux quiver of arrows in our tent but i snuck them into the chest before the boys noticed it (they break almost everything they touch).
-All those gorgeous fairy lights, in and out of the tents.
-Tea and coffee on tap 24/7! Yay!

Cue our second day in the castle.

Obligatory Warwick castle stocks photo.

Emptying the sluice 
bucket in the Tudor area.

Same child, photoshop'ed.

Choosing their ideal armour.

The trebuchet.

It doesn't seem to matter how many times I watch them, I love the trebuchet and the knights!

Jousting knights.

Knights in battle.

Since the boys both behaved impeccably on the second day (no sulking or wandering off), they both earned themselves a shield. (I had investigated how much a wooden shield would cost on eBay and was shocked to find it would be at least £10 for a plain one & I knew it was £8 at Warwick Castle to paint your own). While they were watching the Warwick Warriors (again), I snuck off and got the shields backgrounds pre-painted for them so they would be dry when they came to paint them later on. They were so pleased! Unbelievably, Ed seemed to know exactly what he was going to do, having spoken about it the day before. I offered to help  but he immediately declined and got on with painting his 'x's. Genius! Bean needed a bit more help. He chose his stencil and helped me dab the paint. They're really fantastic and a great reminder of our awesome time at the castle.

My own little knight, Bean.

I've heard the info request list for next year's glamping is already humongous so I don't think it will be the same experience if they chose to expand it, though a few more showers may not go amiss.

Back home with their hand painted shields.