Sharing is caring!

Last weekend we spent a fantastic afternoon at Lowther Castle near Penrith.  We were blessed with fabulous weather but a place that can keep 6 kids ranging from 4-10, 6 adults and a dog happy is definitely worthy of a visit whatever the weather.

The website describes Lowther Castle as  “A sight of dramatic beauty and splendour” a statement I wholeheartedly agree with.  The castle sits within 130 acres of hidden gardens, enchanting woodland and breath-taking views.  We were there because a new playground had been constructed at the far end of the gardens #thelostcastle but we loved all the winding paths, rope swings and beautiful flowers just as much.

Lowther Castle was closed to the public for over 70 years , before becoming subject to one of Europe’s largest renovation projects in 2011.   The Cafe, Shop, Gardens & Gallery are open every day from 10am to 5pm in the summer and between 10am to 4pm in the winter.

We arrived at just after 1.30pm and met in the beautiful courtyard it was lovely to see all the cousins playing together happily and we sat down to eat our picnic.  I told the boys we were going to head into the grounds to find #thelostcastle and they all said something along the lines of – I hope it isn’t a boring kids playground with nothing for us to do in. Playgrounds can be really quite boring! I hoped #thelostcastle was going to live up to expectations!

We wandered through the courtyard into the gardens to be met by stunning wild flowers and the romantic ruins of Lowther Castle itself.  When you buy your tickets to get in (£8 for adults £7 for children, children under 2 are free) you are given a map of the grounds and the option to purchase a children’s Tale Trails map.  The new adventure playground #thelostcastle is situated at the far end of the grounds to encourage families to meander through the rest of the estate to get to it.

So we set off meandering!

Strolling along through the Yew Trees to get to #thelostcastle @lowthercastle this weekend #ukexplore. We would love you to join in with our new hashtag #UKexplore chance to win a days family pass to national trust property of your choice with me and @theordinarylovely

A photo posted by Karen Beddow (@mini_travellers) on Aug 7, 2016 at 10:46pm PDT

Through the yew lined paths and the vast open spaces to a ‘work in progress’ clearing with some logs and ropes. Is this the playground the boys asked? It’s a bit babyish?

No I replied it’s just around this corner as I could see the bridge into #thelostcastle.

2 hours later we had to drag them all out! It definitely wasn’t babyish at all!

It’s difficult to explain the scale of #thelostcastle but the facts and figures give you some idea.  17,700 metres of timber has been used. That’s apparently enough timber to run the length of Ullswater one and a half times or 18x the height of Scafell.  This video also does a really good job of showing you round!  The whole place feels brilliantly constructed and kids of all ages were having a fantastic time.  To manage to keep toddlers and ten year olds happy in the same space is a pretty fabulous achievement.

It took some time to drag them away from #thelostcastle but the temptation of the rope swings did the job. Teasing them that the rope swings might be at the top of the hill we made our way to the top to see the spectacular view and let them run back down again to find the rope swings at the bottom.

We only finished playing on the rope swings and left because it was nearly time for Lowther Castle to shut and we wanted a cup of tea and an ice cream before we left.  So we made our way out to the beautiful courtyard once again and reflected on what a lovely day we had had.

Highly recommended for a day out for all the family.

WHY NOT PIN THIS Post about Lowther Castle FOR LATER

 

NB: We received complimentary entrance to Lowther Castle but all views and opinions are my own.