Situated in Northumberland, just north of Newcastle Upon Tyne, lies Alnwick castle. Still home to the duke and his family, it is the second largest inhabited castle in the UK. The castle has been a large part of English culture for many years, but gained more popularity as a tourist destination when the grounds were used as a filming location for the first two Harry Potter movies; The Philosophers (Sorcerer’s) Stone and The Chamber of Secrets, as well as Transformers: The Dark Knight and English drama Downton Abbey. Read more about it’s history here!
The area has two main attractions, the castle itself and the gardens. Adult tickets range from £13.20 for a ticket to the gardens, to £28 for both gardens and the castle (children under 16 £4.95/£12.20, Over 60’s £11.55/ £24 and under 4s go free! There is also a discount for family tickets available)
The castle and its grounds holds a variety of events over the summer period, including Harry potter and medieval related activities.
We went relatively early and there weren’t many people around considering the castle is a major tourist attraction. It is also a lot smaller than I expected so we got around it pretty quickly! There are also a few little cafes and gift shops around so hit them up if you’re looking for some medieval or harry potter related goods!
The gardens were also deceivingly small, though i think we might have missed a few bits… the grounds are extremely well kept and just a pleasure to walk around! The main fountain is a great sight, and definitely stick around for the Granny Tourismo show if you’re there before it ends! SO FUNNY!
My verdict? A little expensive for what it is, but good fun nonetheless. Would I go again? Absolutely. The beauty of it all is amazing. Did you have a chance to visit? Drop me a comment!
Until next time, see ya soon!
A Slice of Korea 