In an effort to make good use of our family subscription to English Heritage, my husband and I recently took the children for a visit to Stokesay Castle in Shropshire. It is a beautiful place, and we had a very pleasant drive down through the countryside from our home in East Cheshire. We met some friends at Stokesay Castle, and our children had lots of fun exploring the old place together. Our dog wasn’t very keen when we took him inside the main hall and up the old, stone staircase to the upper floors. He liked it even less when we took him across wooden walkways between rooms, but there were lots of fascinating nooks and crannies to discover.
Since it was the beginning of our Halloween Half Term holiday from school, English Heritage had set up a craft room in one part of the castle. We spent a good hour or so painting and colouring, and came home a with a very cute pumpkin tealight holder, a couple of painted foam pumpkin decorations, a vampire and a spooky cat. My girls loved it! The adults then decided it was time for coffee and cake, so we visited the onsite café. It must have been unexpectedly busy that day, but we found somewhere to sit and enjoyed a nice, warming hot chocolate. On our way back to the car, we had to do a bit of shopping in the castle gift shop, where I picked up a bottle of my favourite Ginger Liqueur. We are now planning our next English Heritage visit, but that might have to wait until after Christmas.
Image credit: NEJ Photograpy
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Oh, Stokesay has to be a favourite castle – so much atmosphere and very photogenic. The adjacent church is interesting too – though that may not be your cup of tea 🙂
Oh I was drawn to the church, but our children were a bit hyperactive so we didn’t get chance to explore inside! Another time, perhaps 🙂
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