Belvoir Castle Easter Event Visit Review

Reviewed by Laura S

Belvoir Castle is a magnificent castle set on the top of hill in rural Leicestershire. She beams down on the countryside around her and the Castle gardens.

Belvoir Castle is situated 15 minute drive off the A1 near Grantham. Easily accessible from many different parts of the UK.

We visited the Castle as an extended family with four adults and two children aged 6 & 9 years.

The Castle offers a a great day out for all of the family with a viewing of the Castle interior rooms, beautiful gardens and the new adventure playground. There is currently an Easter Event until 10th April which is included in the entry fee.

Upon entering the Castle grounds. The children were given a box each that contained a pencil, activity sheet and an Easter/Spring themed toy. I don’t want to say what & spoil the surprise, our children were very happy.

The walk up to the Castle is up hill with a lovely walk along the grounds. If you find walking difficult or have a disability there is a shuttle available on request to transport you. Also with disabled parking at the top by the Castle.

Just before we reached the Castle we came across a couple of energetic bunnies that were friendly and chatty with all passing guests. The bunnies explained the Easter Trail and directed into the Rose Garden area.

The children had to solve a series puzzle clues using the provided information & record on their activity sheet. There clues were spaced out around the garden and were easy enough to find. There clearly had been a lot of effort and thought out into each of the clues.

All of the children were having a great time running around and recording the information on the sheet from the box.
Once completed, the children could continue on the short walk up to the Castle to claim their prize. The children got to pick an Easter Egg from a wide selection. The children were very happy that they were able to select their own egg and we thought it was a generous size.

Tip: we decided to not claim the eggs prizes until after we had toured the Castle to use as a bit of a carrot to get them around the Castle and to prevent the pestering of wanting to eat it whilst walking around.

There was also Easter arts and crafts available, which is included in the entry. This was bustling with families.

The Castle boasts a range of beautifully decorated rooms, that display art work and artefacts that you can view. There were plenty of staff on hand to offer assistance or further information. Plus seats, if you needed a rest.
We particularly enjoyed the swords and looking at old coins and bits that had been found in the Castle grounds over many years.

We did a self guided tour but there is an option to pay a little top up fee for a guided tour.

The Adventure Playground is the latest addition to Belvoir Castle, set in fouler acres of land. The Playground features a wooden castle, ship, slides, climbing frame and zip wire.

The playground is impressive with something for all ages to play on and seats dotted around from the adults to enjoy watching the children playing.

The children enjoyed all of the playground areas, particularly the tunnel slide and very long zip wire. That was pretty speedy.

A basket seat swing and a more challenging climbing frame would be welcomed additions.

There was plenty of on-site parking available which is charged at £1.20 per hour or £6 for all day. You can redeem £1.20 back towards a food or drink purchase.

There were toilets situated by the entrance to the Castle grounds and car park plus in the castle. Found the facilities to be clean each time.

The café by the entrance is take away only but was incredibly slow service, it took 25mins to get two hot drinks. This was disappointing as it was the first dry and sunny in a long time with a lot families out to enjoy Belvoir Castle. Hopefully this was just a blip on the day we visited.

The drink costs were on par with other places.  We didn’t buy any food, but there was a range of hot & cold foods to purchase at expected prices.  We took our own picnic and ate it by the Adventure Playground. Where there are picnic benches available and a large gazebo with seating to offer some protection from the elements.

Within the Adventure Playground area there was what look like a kiosk but wasn’t open. This was a shame as would had a roaring trade if selling ice creams or drinks.

The Easter Event includes entry to the Castle, Gardens & Adventure Play ground.
Cost:
Child £10
Adult 20
Or family ticket for 2 adults and 3 children £50
There are a range of discounts available and membership options.

Overall, we thought it was excellent value for money. There was plenty for the whole family to enjoy at your own pace, even without the Easter Event extras. These were definitely an added bonus to the day. It was lovely to spend time outside.

We will definitely be recommending to family and friends to visit and will be back ourselves in the near future.

Rating: Overall we give 4.5/5.

For further information, upcoming events and to book tickets:
https://www.belvoircastle.com/castle-book-tickets/