Haunted Castle at Warwick Castle Halloween 2016

Haunted CastleThis week the wonderful Haunted Castle at Warwick Castle has opened. It promises spooky scares and terrifying torments (just how scared you want to be is entirely up to you!) We popped along yesterday to sample some of the unnerving goings on.Haunted Castle

The castle is open every day until 9pm and the truly terrifying scares happen from 5pm onwards. For younger visitors (or those of a more nervous disposition) the daytime activities may be more your speed.Haunted Hollows

Haunted Hollows

Without a doubt our favourite attraction was the Haunted Hollows, a magical and spooky garden where even the statues appear to come alive!HauntedHollows3

All the attractions are given a rating based on their ability to scare, the Hollows has 2 Pumpkins which means it’s a family friendly affair.Haunted Hollows

My youngest had the nerve to tell this lovely Gargoyle that he wasn’t scary!Haunted Hollows

We enjoyed the hollows so much we went through twice! You can see a glimpse of this magical garden in this little video we made.

The Witches Tower

Witches TowerThe Princesses have been evicted and the Witches have taken up residence. For children aged 3-8 (and their adult) the witches ask for your help cooking up a spell for eternal youth. But as any good witch knows there’s no point playing by the rules and your spell just might not work! My son loved hunting for rats tails and bats wings. Definitely a must see for younger visitors but as this is a ticketed and timed event make sure to visit the tower early and book in your slot (there’s no extra charge).Witches Tower

Spooky Stories

When the Eagles aren’t flying (and they still are as usual) Spooky stories are told by a witch on the Eagle Lawn. Cue lots of audience participation with roaring dragons and ear shattering battle cries.

After Dark

The castle lights up about 5pm and the real scares begin! HauntedHollows2

The Dungeon is open from 11am (pumpkin rating 4 and absolutely no under 10s).

Tormented is a brand new attraction for 2016 and has a ghastly 5 on the pumpkin rating, I can’t tell you much more as I had little peeps with me but suffice to say one poor soul is trapped in the castle and destined to suffer a fate worse than death!

At 5pm a parade of plague victims are led through the central courtyard by the plague doctor and led on down to Outbreak 1349 where victims must struggle through the darkness to flee the infected. We caught the poor souls at the end of our video so make sure to take a look.Outbreak 1349

At 6.30pm there’s a public hanging which sees the famous Black Boar finally get his comeuppance and at 7pm there’s a Halloween Fire Joust across the river.

Of course there’s still twice daily flight of the Eagle shows as usual and the castle and ramparts can also be explored at your leisure. There’s also the Horrible Histories maze which is so much fun you have to visit whatever the occasion. To see more of the normal attractions take a look at one of my previous posts.Haunted Castle

We had an amazing time and managed just the right amount of spookiness for us. I think there’s something for everyone whether you like to scream your lungs out or chuckle heartedly when a Scarecrow peeps over your shoulder so definitely pop along if you can.

Information

The Haunted Castle event runs from the 22-31 October.

After dark entry is available from £14 per person.

For more info or to see event timings visit www.warwick-castle.com

 

Thomas Land Weekends at Drayton Manor 2016 Review

Thomas Land Weekends at Drayton Manor 2016 Review

Thomas Land Weekends at Drayton Manor 2016 Review

I can’t be the only one who is willing Spring to hurry up and make an appearance!! Warmer days, longer evenings and the chance for more family days out, I can’t wait! Thomas Land and Drayton Manor’s 2016 season is about to start in earnest (the full park reopens 12th March) but before all the thrill rides are back Drayton is hosting two Thomas & Friends Weekends events. Last Saturday the park invited lots of bloggers including my family to the first weekend, so today is our Thomas Land Weekends at Drayton Manor 2016 Review!Thomas Land Weekends at Drayton Manor 2016 Review

As usual we had a wonderful time, despite a chilly start. The park is looking as good as ever and there’s loads of new additions coming soon. The Tamarin Trail opens just before Easter and offers you the chance to get up close to some moustached marmosets as you walk through the new enclosure, so this year promises to be better than ever!Thomas Land Weekends at Drayton Manor 2016 Review

The park partially reopened for the Thomas and friends Weekends event which is also running on the 5th & 6th March. Thanks to Thomas Land’s expansion in 2015 plus the zoo, farm, cinema, carousel and so on there’s still plenty to do, in fact we were exhausted when we got back home.

Thomas Land Weekends at Drayton Manor 2016 Review

Thomas Land is great for all ages but it’s really aimed at families (and kids at heart) so here’s what my mini train conductors thought:Thomas Land Weekends at Drayton Manor 2016 Review

Little Miss Train Driver:

There are loads of animals at Drayton, I love riding Thomas and watching the other trains. Rides like Jeremy (Jeremy’s Flying School) and Troublesome Trucks are really epic! They always make me laugh and Troublesome Trucks makes my eyes water when you go round the fast bit! Toby’s amazing because he swings round and goes up and down, once I went on him seven times in a row! I really want to go back soon, especially when the new monkey trail opens in the zoo 🙂

Thomas Land Weekends at Drayton Manor 2016 ReviewMini Controller

Thomas Land has a water bit which is really fun because you spray water at a house which is on fire (Flynn’s Fire & Rescue). Then there’s also another water ride that you can go on (Captain’s Seas Adventure) and sometimes you can spray onto the walls and sometimes you can get really wet! There’s a driving school (Terrence’s Driving School) where you can drive Terrence around a track, I’m the only one small enough to go on it and it’s great.

Thomas Land Weekends at Drayton Manor 2016 Review

The Biggest Signalman (who in the pic above is illustrating how not to dismount a horse)

The rollercoasters are great, Cranky is awesome when you drop up and down fast, that’s definitely one of my favourite rides. I really like Rocking Bulstrode the Tug Boat as well, it spins really fast which make us laugh. Although the first ride I always go on is Troublesome Trucks, they go really fast and I love rollercoasters! Plus Mummy loves the Carousel (it’s true I do!)Thomas Land Weekends at Drayton Manor 2016 Review

As you can tell we always have a great time when we visit but just in case you need more convincing watch our short video which captures some of our favourite rides, plus a flamingo or two and a talking Cockatoo!

For more information

Tickets for the Thomas & Friends Weekends Events are priced at just £15 (pre-booked) for ages 12-59 with concessions available. Check out the event page here.

Visit Drayton Manor online for more details of upcoming events and attractions and to book early bird price tickets.

Disclaimer: We were provided free tickets to the event but all opinions are my own.