Warwick Castle

It is definitely worth a visit. Very impressive place. Your age and gender shouldn't deter you at all. Never felt unsafe anywhere in the U.K.

It is a very nice castle and worth a visit. Because of who owns it, it is very well maintained; meaning it is not a ruin like many other castles. That being said, I wouldn’t return because it is extremely touristy, very crowded, and has a theme park atmosphere. I visited it in 2011 and there were a number of school groups there during our visit. Climbing the tower and walking along the wall was a challenge because of the number of people. The house wasn’t nearly as crowded.

TC thanks for the info. I wasn't really worried about safety. More gave my age to see if other solo youngish travelers enjoyed going to it.

Jamieelsabio that is good to know too. I am going on a Monday at the beginning of May so school should be in session so that shouldn't be as much of a worry. I may just plan to at least do a ride by and take a few pictures and if not terribly busy go in a look.

Good to know Emma! It will probably be skipped then. I am sure I will be able to spend more time at Kenilworth Castle. I am not sure it is as popular but it seems nicer atmosphere plus is related more closely to Elizabeth the 1st who I adore.

If you enjoy castles, I wouldn’t skip it simply because of the crowds, it is worth a visit. It can’t be seen from the road, so trying to do a drive-by would be difficult. My visit there was in mid-May. Believe parking was £2 or so, but from it and walking towards the entrance you could get a few photos of the exterior if that was all you wanted to do. But by that point you may as well go in. Its hours are 10am-4pm so getting there early might avoid the crowds. If you know which date you’re going you can save £6 on the basic ticket price if you buy it online. Its website is:

https://www.warwick-castle.com

I would rather do Kenilworth than Warwick and I only have one day to go up there. So I may just do it and give myself all day to experience it. If I happen to get done early I can always visit something else once I go back to London. I wouldn't be able to get to Warwick until about 2:45pm or later so I won't have a ton of time there.

Madam Tussauds owns and runs the castle and have added interesting features like life-size figures of famous people as well as typical servants, etc.

The castle has become a huge family attraction. We saw more children in our day at Warwick Castle than in our entire four weeks in Britain.

There are excellent birds of prey shows as well as jousting. We enjoyed our visit there. We found a small hotel in downtown Warwick that was very nice. It was not luxury accommodations, but the location is great as are the people in the hotel and the breakfast is good.

It is the Warwick Arms Hotel
17 High Street
Warwick

https://www.warwickcastlebreaks.com/events/wars-of-the-roses-at-warwick-castle.html

Kenilworth Castle is very interesting but there honestly isn't a lot of it left, mainly the keep and the grounds. I think that there has been new development of it since I lived down the street but English Heritage won't have added any of the castle back.

What I find most interesting there is the surrounding grounds, the old Mere which was flooded and sea battles reenacted. Elizabeth and Dudley certainly have plenty of history there.

Unless you want to go into excruciatingly fine detail it is unlikely you will spend as much time at Kenilworth Castle as it sounds like you are planning.

There is a bridge, down by the private school, where you can look up to a distant Warwick Castle - a very good photo spot with the river in the foreground.

Yes, Warwick Castle is a playground now, yes it can be busy, yes you need a wealthy banker as a friend to get in, but it is in fabulous shape for an old castle, it does look as it always did but cleaner, and it really allows you to see and imagine it as it was in Elizabethan times. For my money a very worthy visit.

Why can't you go between Kenilworth and Warwick until 2:45? Frequent (several times an hour) buses connect the two all day long.

Madam Tussauds owns and runs the castle and have added interesting features like life-size figures of famous people as well as typical servants, etc.

Merlin Entertainment owns and runs the castle, they also own and run Madame Tussauds, Chessington Theme Park, Thorpe Park, Alton Towers and so on. It's easy to see why it has a theme park feel to it.

I would rather do Kenilworth than Warwick and I only have one day to
go up there. So I may just do it and give myself all day to experience
it.

I love Kenilworth Castle but you’ll struggle to spend all day there. Two hours would do it all, including a bite to eat in the cafe; maybe a little longer if you walk around it.

Kenilworth and Warwick Castles would make a fascinating double bill: both are great castles with lots of history, and you can compare & contrast two very different approaches to heritage & tourism.

Thanks for all the information everyone. I am still debating Warwick. And maybe just doing Kenilworth and then back to London. But I like the idea of comparing the two.

Anyone have any experience with Leamington Spa? Is there anything there to look at that is interesting. I thought I saw a few things but didn't know if it was worth an hour to spend there.

I think you are pushing it adding Royal Leamington Spa.

I have a bit of knowledge gained from several years working at the station there.

Honestly, for a tourist, there really isn't much.

A big old - but very plain - whitewashed station. A church with very nice ring of bells. Shops. A park with spa water (or have they ended that?). A few Regency buildings not all in the best of nick. A very short arm of the Grand Union canal (much better in Warwick). The river Avon which floods from time to time making a mess of the buildings at that end of town.

For my money stay in Warwick to look at a town. Kenilworth has the castle but that is all a tourist would want. Warwick has some nice views, old section, antiques stores, a market, the castle, and Lord Leycester Hospital. http://www.lordleycester.com/ Same era, very well worth seeing. Still in use.

We had a pleasant meal at the Queen & Castle across the street from Kenilworth. The castle is mostly derelict.

Warwick Castle is complete and well cared for, to a fault I would say. It’s just exactly what a castle should look like. Lots of good photos. We enjoyed the falconry show.

The castle is mostly derelict.

It’s mostly ruined, not derelict. Derelict means abandoned, suggests it’s not looked after. In fact it’s very well cared-for, and parts are virtually intact. For me it feels much more like genuine history than the interesting but somewhat over-restored Warwick.

about the

I wouldn't be able to get to Warwick until about 2:45pm or later

????

The castle is a ruin because it was "slighted" (blown up and destroyed) by the Roundheads in 1649 during the Civil War.

400 years earlier it had been the subject of the longest siege of a castle in these islands.

The 2:45 pm comment would be based on the timing of buses and such. Kenilworth is my set destination. If I get to Kenilworth around 10 when they open and spend about 2.5-3 hours there and then eat I was estimating with the travel to Warwick castle I would be able to get there about 245 pm or so.

There is still some debate for myself whether I am going to be traveling through Leamington Spa or Coventry. I think I am leaning to Coventry as the town seems a little more interesting. (At least to a non-native)

Kenilworth is my set destination. If I get to Kenilworth around 10
when they open and spend about 2.5-3 hours there and then eat I was
estimating with the travel to Warwick castle I would be able to get
there about 245 pm or so.

As a couple of us have already said, you will struggle to spend that much time at Kenilworth Castle unless you examine every brick... ;-)

It’s quite a small site. There is also a decent cafe there.

I know I am planning on the time being there is long but it also takes into account any delays on transit or if I happen to not be up as early in London as I had planned. I will probably be actually back in Warwick around 100pm or just a little later.

I hadn't noticed that you are planning on visiting Coventry on the way too. Is it possible that you are biting off a lot to chew in a day? As a local I can say that I am surprised at adding in Coventry - it was considerably more beautiful before it was destroyed on the night of the 14th of November 1941 in a horrific raid that my father could see the light of in Cheltenham, 50 miles away.

What wasn't destroyed in that attack was destroyed a few years later when the city was "rebuilt" in ugly concrete. The local saying goes something like, "What Hitler didn't finish the Town Planners did".

If you were searching for something to do in Coventry I would commend you to the destroyed Cathedral the ruins of which remain along with its bell tower, the new Cathedral adjacent which some people (not me) like, the Motor Museum, and seeing where prisoners were "sent to Coventry" in the Civil War. Nearby that church is what is left of the very short Spon Street which somehow partially survived and gives a clue as to what was destroyed.

Nigel, my plans besides Kenilworth are up in the air. After looking at the public transit/trains out of London to get to Kenilworth I either stop in Leamington Spa or Coventry. I know if I do all three things that that is a lot in one day, which is why I was on the fence about Warwick. It is also the last day of my trip as I leave from Heathrow around 12 noon the next day.

I was thinking that if I decide not to do Warwick, which based on the cost, and the time it will take to get there plus do I really want to do both castles the same day, I would wander around Coventry. I know about it being destroyed during the war and then afterward. I was thinking it would be nice to be out in a town in England, not London, on a public holiday, that could be busy.

Bank Holiday Monday - the Early May Bank Holiday - will be busy in Warwick Castle and to a lesser degree in Kenilworth (nobody will notice in Royal Leamington Spa (but some flowers and trees may be in bloom in the park) or in Coventry), and it will all depend on the weather.

Don't tell anyone I said this but there is a small chance that Kenilworth Station may be open by then, and be a stop on the Coventry/Leamington train line, and then not too far to the Castle on foot. Maybe not, though, because the building works are delayed and not completed yet. We won't know until closer to the time. Keep an eye on https://www.westmidlandsrailway.co.uk/travel-information/station-information/knw for updates.

The bus, in the meantime, from Warwick is probably easier than from Coventry, but check. There have been some recent changes which I haven't delved into yet.

Kenilworth Station is now open. Hourly service by West Midlands Trains between Coventry and Royal Leamington Spa.

I think each person needs to make a decision about Warwick Castle on his or her own. I had concerns that it would be too touristy. I read a lot of reviews on trip advisor and on the Warwick Castle website and decided as appealing as the bird of prey show was, it would not be for me. Some of the things that people raved about on trip advisor were the very things that I wanted to avoid.

Continue to do your research and seek out opinions and then bon voyage!