We Visit Alnwick Castle, Northumberland

I urge absolutely everybody to go and visit Alnwick Castle.

At the end of August, I’d handed in my week’s notice at my job. I’d been offered my old job back and had decided to leave my current job at Thornton Manor, the place where we got married. Our trip couldn’t have come at a better time as it was right in between leaving my old job and starting my new one.

We planned this trip quite a while ago, having received the Alnwick Castle tickets back in March. So I still can’t believe the timing of it landing perfectly in the middle of jobs, right where I needed it most!

I was super excited to visit Alnwick Castle, mostly because it was where parts of Harry Potter and Downton Abbey were filmed, but also because I’d never been to that part of the country before. It was a long drive (just under 4 hours) for only 3 days away, but worth it.

 

The Castle and Grounds

Although the photos have come out looking beautiful and sunny, it was a cold windy day!

We started by viewing the castle and its grounds. We recognised straight away where those flying lessons were filmed in the first Harry Potter film. When we went past later, there was a group of school children having flying lessons of their own in the same spot.

 

 

I had never realised that the castle would have such incredible views. The above picture was taken from the castle wall, which, if you looked the opposite way, faced out onto gorgeous hills and countryside.

 

 

 

Unfortunately we couldn’t take any pictures inside the castle, as it’s lived in by the family that own it, but we did visit this stunning library room, as featured in Downton Abbey:

 

 

The Gardens

If you want to visit the garden as well as the castle, the ticket is more expensive, but I don’t know why you wouldn’t visit the gardens. They were the best part of the trip.

They were stunning, and you would just keep finding these gorgeous plots covered in flowers and secret pathways. The gardens are massive; you could easily spend half a day there. You can get lunch in the Treehouse, play some mini golf, have some ice cream from the Cornish ice cream stand, see the blossom trees in full bloom, visit the Poison Garden (where they have an actual cannabis plant).

 

 

We played some mini golf (Jay won by 1 point and wouldn’t let me forget it) and then we got some yummy honeycomb ice cream.

 

The Treehouse Restaurant

Unfortunately, the Treehouse was fully booked on the day we wanted to eat there, and it’s a stunning building, I’ve never seen anything like it!

 

 

The restaurant was incredible, complete with fire pits inside and gorgeous wooden walls and ceilings. It can be hired out as a wedding venue (check out this stunning wedding at the Treehouse) and think of the photos you could have taken afterwards in the gardens.

I’d absolutely visit Alnwick Castle again (and recommend booking a meal in advance for the Treehouse).

 

*I was gifted the entry tickets in return for an honest review. All opinions are my own.