Visiting Alnwick Castle with kids, Northumberland

Saying Northumberland isn’t short of castles would be an understatement, but if you don’t have time to tick off every one (though it’s a tempting challenge), you can’t miss visiting Alnwick Castle with kids.

review visit*

If your kids are Harry Potter fans, it’ll be top of their wishlist too with broomstick lessons and scenes from the movies filmed there – but there’s far more than wizards to find, with grand staterooms, castle walls to walk on, the Dragon’s Quest experience and other fun family activities.

So much, in fact, that you could easily spend all day taking the tours, watching the shows, and exploring every corner – or like we did, it’s easy to combine the castle with a visit to the Alnwick Garden with kids and stop in at Barter Books, another of my favourite things to do in Northumberland with kids.

The big question was where to start? We’d been warned that tickets for the broomstick lessons and for Dragon’s Quest went quickly – both are free but there are limited numbers – so it was worth getting these sorted early on.

So having lined both up for later in the afternoon, we headed inside to see how the other half live in Alnwick Castle’s state rooms.

They’re as ornate and impressive as you’d expect. Designed in the Italian Renaissance style, that means sweeping staircases, marble galore and silk hangings plus an impressive collection of artworks featuring Canaletto and Van Dyck.

The intricate ceiling in the Saloon alone is astonishing. You can’t take photos inside the state rooms so you’ll have to take my word for it – or check out some of the photos on the castle website here.

Some areas have been closed recently, including the China gallery and Chapel, but you can still explore the Dining Room – roughly where Alnwick Castle’s medieval hall would have been – and eye up some of the sculpture and china on display too.

Back outside, there are various tours you can take to explore the castle grounds, including one focused on Alnwick’s role on screen; it’s appeared in around 40 different movies and TV shows, including Elizabeth, Transformers: The Last Knight and Downton Abbey, as well as two of the Harry Potter movies.

But you could also learn more about the castle’s history on another tour of the grounds, with over 950 years to uncover.

From Alnwick’s Norman beginnings, it was transformed into a mighty fortress by the Percy family who have owned it since the early 14th century – including Harry Hotspur who was born here, who helped bring Henry IV to the throne before rebelling and being defeated in battle by the future Henry V (a story later immortalised by Shakespeare).

Over the centuries it has survived skirmishes with the Scots, the English Civil war and neglect, with the Percy family spending more time at their estates in the south of England, including Petworth in Sussex – a decision that wasn’t always their choice with Tudor and Stuart monarchs keeping a close eye on the powerful Catholic family.

Restored several times to its current condition, the Percy family still own the castle today, with the Duke of Northumberland and his family making their home here – it’s the second largest inhabited castle in England, second only to Windsor Castle.

For more of the best UK castles with kids, including several in Northumberland, check out my favourites

Without time to squeeze in one of the official tours, which last around 45 minutes each, we wandered from the inner bailey to the outer bailey before heading under the clocktower to check out the medieval crafts and games in the Artisan’s Courtyard near Dragon’s Quest.

Along the way, my daughter scampered up and down as many of the grassy slopes surrounding the castle buildings as she could. You can also print out the Battle Cry trail before you go, to keep kids entertained as you explore Alnwick Castle.

As you wander, keep an eye out for the figures on top of the castle towers and battlements too: originally a medieval trick to confuse attackers, more were added when the castle was restored in the 18th century.

I hadn’t realised this until we visited, and spent a while trying to decide whether my eyes were deceiving me, then wondering if they were statues or real people!

There are some little museums to explore as well, including the Castle Museum in the Postern Tower with finds from various archaeological digs held around Alnwick, including ancient tombstones among the displays.

In the Constable’s Tower, there’s an eclectic collection pieced together by the Dukes of Northumberland, along with the story of the Percy Tenantry Volunteers, set up during the 18th century Napoleonic Wars.

Not forgetting the great views out from the castle walls too, across the gorgeous countryside. Or to add a bit of extra excitement, imagine firing one of the cannon dotted around to repel attackers.

If you have chance, you can even have a go at archery back near the Lion Arch (for an added fee), to see how you’d have done defending the castle.

But it was time for us to try our hand on a broomstick with a 25-minute lesson on the spot where Harry has his own first flying lesson in the first movie, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

I’d like to pretend I wasn’t as excited as my daughter, but I must not tell lies…! Kids do get priority at the lessons, but adults can join in if there are spare brooms to go around.

If you want to keep the magical theme going, you can even stay in a Harry Potter-themed room at Hallow & Crux in Alnwick, with great names like the Dumbledorm family room, a broomstick’s throw from Alnwick Castle

With two professors in sweeping robes to share their flying tips, we got advice on what to do if your broom doesn’t leap straight into your hand and discovered that different brooms seem to make different noises as you speed around the grass.

Having practised some basic manoeuvres, it was time for the final test. And as the photos prove, we were soon airborne.

No, honest.

For more great UK days out for Harry Potter fans, I’ve found the best around the country

Alas we couldn’t take the brooms with us to evade the firebreathing foe on our next stop, Dragon’s Quest.

Enjoyably scary (though not for littler kids who might get genuinely unnerved), it doesn’t take long to reach the end of quest, evading witches and illusions, billowing smoke and other perils along the way.

Again, there are no photos allowed inside, so you’ll have to use your imagination – good practice for when you are inside too.

It’s a fun little bonus if you’re visiting Alnwick Castle with kids, with a chance to get into character as the hero or heroine of the quest alongside Harry Hotspur himself.

With very limited numbers during our visit, don’t feel too upset if you don’t get a ticket though.

During school holidays, there are extra family activities taking place too, including a pair of firebreathing juggling jesters during our visit: easily a highlight.

Between jokes to get adults and kids laughing, there was a whole array of tricks and a bit of audience participation – one dad plucked from the crowd definitely got points with his kids for bravery as he helped with the final fire-raising trick.

Cheeks aching from laughing, dragons overcome, broomsticks flown and battlements climbed, whether it’s Harry Potter than tempts you or history, this is one castle you definitely need to conquer while you’re in Northumberland.

For more things to do in Northumberland with kids, check out my top picks

Need to know: Visiting Alnwick Castle with kids

Tickets cost £20.50 for adults, £10.80 for kids aged five to 16. Children age four and under are free, plus there are family tickets available.

All standard tickets are automatically annual passes, so you can revisit for free for 12 months: book your return visit via phone, email or livechat to arrange a timeslot.

Joint tickets to Alnwick Castle and the Alnwick Garden are also sometimes available if you’re planning to visit both attractions.

Tickets for broomstick lessons and Dragon’s Quest are free but available first come, first served, with limited numbers.

You can get broomstick lesson tickets from either the broomstick arena or Artisan’s Courtyard, with a timed slot – during school holidays, all slots have usually booked up by early afternoon.

Dragon’s Quest tickets are available from the Artisan’s Courtyard and with reduced numbers and limited slots, these do get booked up quickly.

Alnwick Castle is open from 10am to 5.30pm, last entry to get into the grounds is 3pm, and 4pm for the state rooms is 4pm.

There are shorter opening hours for the gift shop and various places to eat, including fish and chips at the Stables fryery, a cafe, takeaway and food stalls. Check out the full opening hours here.

The castle closes for the winter from November 1, usually reopening in time for the Easter holidays in late March.

Parking costs £3.50 per day (and is the same car park as for the Alnwick Garden) – it’s around a five-minute walk down the hill from the entrance to the garden, and you can only use contactless cards for payment (no cash).

The postcode for the car park is NE66 1YU, although it’s hard to miss, and there is accessible parking on Castle Square (postcode NE66 1NG).

PIN FOR LATER: A DAY AT ALNWICK CASTLE WITH KIDS

Disclosure: Our family day out at Alnwick Castle was free for the purposes of review – all opinions and overexcitement at getting on a broomstick are my own.

Images copyright MummyTravels

LIKED THIS? SIGN UP FOR MY EMAIL NEWSLETTER