Festive season launches at Kenilworth Castle
From Friday 30 November to Sunday 16 December
During its Elizabethan heyday, Kenilworth Castle would have hosted all kinds of festive celebrations, and this year, visitors can make the most of the Castle as an escape from the hustle and bustle of the high street with a series of fun family events!
Recreating a wreath-building tradition that started in Germany in the 16thcentury, Kenilworth Castle’s festive events kick off with wreath making workshops on Friday 30 November. Participants will work under the expert tutelage of a florist to create their very own Christmas wreaths to take home. Designed in a circular shape using evergreen hollies and leaves to represent everlasting life, the Christmas wreath has become a staple part of many households’ celebrations, to be displayed on doors throughout the country! The Christmas Wreath Making workshops run from 9am until 12 noon and 1pm to 4pm, with tickets costing £20 per person, or £16 for English Heritage members. Booking is essential; call 0870 333 1183 to reserve a place.
As children open the first window on their advent calendars on 1 December, so launches a weekend of family fun trails around the site, with a distinctly festive theme! Cryptic clues will lead visitors young and old around the site, with a seasonal prize for those completing the trail. The following weekend (8 and 9 December), Kenilworth Castle’s favourite storyteller returns, from 10.00am to 4.00pm for tales of Yule past.
Anyone who loves the spooky aspects of Charles Dickens’ Christmas Carol will be in their element on Friday 7 December, as the after-dark ghost tours return, packed full of the ghosts of Christmas past – an eerie evening that will make you wonder who really is coming down the chimney…
The Christmas Ghost Tours depart at 7.00pm and 8.00pm, each lasting approximately 45 minutes, followed by a mug of hot soup in the castle tearoom. The tours are only suitable for over 16s, and cost £20 per person, or £16 for English Heritage members. Again, booking is essential; call 0870 333 1183 to reserve a place.
The seasonal events come to a lively conclusion on the weekend of 15 & 16 December, when the castle ruins will ring with the sounds of Christmas tunes from the past and present! Taking an entertaining look at festive music, including some familiar melodies with perhaps unfamiliar origins, the Christmas music weekend is the perfect way to bring on some festive cheer!
Meanwhile, each weekend, those hunting for unusual Christmas gifts are welcome to visit Kenilworth Castle’s gift shop. With a range of wines and spirits, jams and chutneys as well as unusual stocking-fillers – including old-fashioned children’s toys and even replica medieval handcuffs and armour – the gift shop offers high quality gift ideas for just about everyone.
Kenilworth Castle & Elizabethan Garden is open every weekend, from 10.00am to 4.00pm, throughout the winter months. Admission prices are £8.20 for adults, £7.40 for concessions and £4.90 for children. A family ticket (two adults and up to three children) is also available for £21.30. English Heritage members get in free.
For more details, please visit www.english-heritage.org.uk/kenilworth, call 01926 852078 (weekends only) or follow Kenilworth Castle on Facebook.
ENDS
For further media information, please contact:
Jay Commins – PRO English Heritage (West Midlands)
Tel: 01904 500698
Mob: 07810 546567
Email: jay@pyperyork.co.uk
