Following the children’s trail at Bagot’s Castle

I often use the “Where Can We Go” app on my phone to find local events and places to visit.  We’ve been to a couple of places as a result of using it that we probably wouldn’t have otherwise visited. Bagot’s Castle was one of those places. We were staying in the nearby area over the August bank holiday weekend and noticed that there was a children’s trail there.

 

The ruins of Bagot's Castle in Warwickshire - "Following the children's trail at Bagot's Castle"

 

Bagot’s Castle is a ruined castle in Baginton, near Coventry. The original castle is thought to have been built in the 11th century and then rebuilt in the late 14th century by Sir William Bagot. Sir William Bagot was a favourite of Richard II and is one of the characters in Shakespeare’s play Richard II. He was imprisoned for a year after Henry IV seized the throne. After Sir William was released, he returned to his castle, living a quiet life until his death in 1407.

 

We picked up our children’s trail sheets at the Visitor Centre for 50p each. The trail involved looking out for boards with letters on. Each of the trail boards also gave some information about the history of the castle. Once we’d found all of the letters, we needed to unscramble them to solve the puzzle. We found our first letter at the top of the path leading down towards the castle.

 

Sophie stopping to say hello to one of the Bagot goats

 

We made our way down towards the ruins of the castle, stopping along the way to say hello to the goats and sheep. The three goats are Bagot goats, a rare breed named after Sir William Bagot and the three sheep are Herdwick sheep.

 

Jessica looking for clues in amongst the ruins of Bagot's Castle

 

There were a few clues to be found around the castle site. Very little of the castle still stands, although the ruins give you an idea of what the layout of the castle would have been. Sophie quite enjoyed going through the very small doorway she found in one of the walls!

 

Sophie going through a small doorway in the ruins of Bagot's Castle

 

Once we’d found the clues at the castle, we followed the trail to take in the woodland walk alongside the river. It was a lovely day for a walk and Jessica enjoyed riding on Daddy’s shoulders when she got tired. Ruined castles tend not to be very accessible with the buggy so we’d left it behind. It would have been tricky to navigate parts of the walk if we’d had it with us.

 

Jessica riding on Daddy's shoulders

 

Part of the site was used as a tank testing area during World War II. The girls loved the water splash area (which was quite dry on our visit!) and had fun rolling stones down the slopes and seeing whose stone would travel the furthest. Simple childhood fun at its best!

 

Sophie and Jessica rolling stones down the sides of the water splash tank test area at Bagot's Castle while Daddy looks on

 

The walk also took us around two ornamental ponds. The pond surface was covered in green algae. Sophie didn’t believe that it was water and not grass until I stirred the surface with a stick to show her. Needless to say, we kept a very tight hold on her and Jessica’s hands around this part of the walk! They are generally very good at not going near water. However, when it looks like a nice green carpet, it would be easy for them not to realise it’s there!

 

Sophie finding a clue next to one of the algae-covered ponds

 

We must have missed a couple of boards as we didn’t have all the letters on our return to the visitor centre. The puzzle was easy enough to guess at though. Jessica and Sophie enjoyed the sweets that they received as a reward for doing the trail.

 

Sophie stopping to write down one of the clues near the ornamental ponds

Bagot’s Castle didn’t seem to be a very popular place for a day out though. We went on a sunny Saturday afternoon in August and I think we were the only people on site other than the volunteers working there during our visit. Although there isn’t a lot to do and see at the castle, the walk around the site is lovely. We thoroughly enjoyed the couple of hours we spent there.

Visiting Bagot’s Castle – what you need to know:

Opening hours:

April to October: Weekends and Bank Holidays : 12noon – 5pm

All other times: by appointment

 

Ticket prices: (as at August 2017)

Full admission: £4.00

Concessions:   £2.00

Family ticket (2 adults and up to 4 children):  £10.00

Children under 5 – free

 

Country Kids from Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays Cornwall

16 thoughts on “Following the children’s trail at Bagot’s Castle

  1. What a lovely day out – it’s a shame more people don’t know about it (this post will help!). We love castles (even ruined ones), history and trails, so it would be right up our street. #countrykids

    1. Thanks Sarah – I love castles too and it’s always fun to discover new places to visit.

  2. We love a good trail and this looks like fun and a very good price too. I’m going to check out that app you mention as well, I’ve not heard of it. Mich x #countrykids

    1. It’s a good app for finding local events and it’s always fun to visit somewhere new as a result of using it.

  3. What a great day out for all of you, I bet the girls loved exploring the ruins of the castle searching for the hidden letters. I bet the girls loved meeting the two little goats that live at Bagot’s Castle too, they look lovely and sweet! It’s such a shame a beautiful place like this isn’t very busy, although maybe with more child orientated activities they could encourage more families to visit.

    Thanks for sharing your adventures around Bagot’s castle with me on #CountryKids.

    1. It was a shame that it was so quiet there (although nice for us in some ways to have the place to ourselves!) It might not have been the most fascinating ruined castle I’ve ever visited but the walk was lovely and we thoroughly enjoyed our afternoon there.

  4. It’s great that you had the place all for yourselves. Château D’Harcourt was like that to us. I love a good trail for kids they can be so educational. #CountryKids

  5. It sounds like a great place to go for a picnic and a walk – kids are so funny when they don’t believe you about something and you have to prove it to them! #CountryKids

    1. It was lovely. I wasn’t surprised Sophie didn’t believe me though – it really didn’t look like water there!

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