 The lovely Tamworth Castle 
A Real Life History Lesson
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Recommendation added: 16/05/2006 00:31
By: dewberry (YSUK rating +700)dewberry has been thanked 1 times for this contribution
"My seven year old is learning about castles at school, so when we popped to Tamworth to do some shopping at the weekend we decided to take her to Tamworth Castle. The castle dates back to at least 1070, when a wooden motte and bailey was erected on the site to keep the opposing army away from the important Norman leaders. The stone structure which survives today was built around the original wooden walls at various points in history, with the oldest surviving section of the castle being the North Wing which was built in the 13th century. The final major addition was making the castle look pretty much as it does nowadays, with this huge restoration taking place in the late 18th century.
From the outside, Tamworth Castle looks amazing. It's an absolutely huge building which is still brilliantly intact; set on the top of a lush green hill, the castle is surrounded by beautifully maintained gardens. Picture postcard pretty, which is weird considering the castle is set in Tamworth town centre and a few hundred yards from the grounds is a bustling shopping area.
The cold instantly hit us as we walked into the castle building; despite it being a lovely sunny day outside, the chill from the huge blocks of stone made us shiver. It's pretty inside, with the exhibits beginning more or less as soon as you enter.
Tamworth Castle incorporates a museum, which is spread throughout all the public areas. This is in the form of period furniture, portraits of the various owners of the castle, weapons and clothes from historical eras and loads of other interesting bits and pieces. Obviously, the earlier items are reproductions but the castle has tried to include as many authentic pieces as possible in its collection.
We visited all of the fifteen rooms which are open to the public, and all of them were fantastic. My particular favourite was the 'Haunted Bedroom' which is traditionally decorated in keeping with a Norman castle, very ornate and beautiful. This room is so well laid out that I could almost imagine how life in this room would have been in the 12th or 13th century.
The Great Hall is also a magnificent room; of massive proportions, my seven year old literally gasped in awe at the length of the walls and height of the ceilings! This room is also the focus for a children's quiz sheet which is available from the start of the castle tour, the object being to make visiting children really aware of their local history by setting riddles and games to stoke their imaginations.
Throughout Tamworth Castle are dotted something called 'talking heads'. These are historically accurate models of people living in the castle at certain points in history – and not only do they look the part, but these sci-fi type figures will actually speak to you and tell stories of the times in which they lived. These are a fantastic addition to the exhibits, especially for children as these interesting and unusual displays will stick in little heads much longer than a dusty old table will!
'The Tamworth Story' is definitely worth a visit. This is a permanent interactive display where the kids can try on period clothes, you can plot your way around Tamworth of old on a cool electronic map and browse old books and manuscripts which were the entertainment in those days before TV! My children had great fun dressing up in authentically smelly old clothes, while I took a moment to admire the beautiful Tamworth view from the windows.
Tamworth Castle is a very serene place. As with most castles, there's an air of mystery and suspense inside the walls. The gardens are beautiful, the rooms are enchanting and on top of that there's a wonderfully educational feel to the place. This castle regularly opens it's doors to school parties, so if you're local(ish) to the Tamworth area then your kids have probably visited the castle even if you haven't!
There's a lovely snack café and gift shop inside the Tamworth Castle grounds. The café serves hot and cold drinks, along with low maintenance snacks such as crisps and flapjacks. This sounds basic but it really is ideal as in the summer the gardens are just crying out to be used as picnic areas, and I can't think of a better place to eat my packed lunch. The gift shop is very reasonably priced, with gifts ranging from rubbers costing 20p to notebooks costing £1 to paintings of Tamworth which sell upwards of twenty quid. As a reference, I bought a handful of Tamworth Castle postcards, rubbers, pencils and rulers for the kids and this cost me just under a fiver. Bargain.
The castle is accessible to wheelchair users, although you'll be restricted to the ground floor exhibition and courtyard. When I visited I had my eight month old nephew in his pram and my partner and I had to take turns standing downstairs with Josh while the other looked around the upper floors, which was a bit disappointing. This lack of access is reflected in the admission price, however, which leads me to believe that Tamworth Castle would be more accommodating if it possibly could.
Those visitors who are wheelchair bound and cannot get to the upper floors pay only £1.80 to get in, while standard adult admission is £4.95 and children pay £2.95. These are absolute bargain prices as where else can you get a little piece of history, not to mention dressing up fun and a relaxed picnic, for under £15 for a family of four. Not many places, I tell you. Tamworth Castle is open all year round apart from the obvious Christmas Day and New Years Day closing, it also closes on certain bank holidays so it's worth calling if your planning your visit to coincide with one of these dates.
To find Tamworth Castle, get on either the M1 or M6 northbound and follow on to the M42. The castle is located a very short distance and well signposted from Junction 10. Coming in on the M6 southbound, you need Junction 12 and then drive to Tamworth along the A5. There's plenty of free parking at Tamworth Castle, in a large well maintained car park. Also, there's a drop off point directly outside the castle for people with disabilities.
Tamworth Castle
The Holloway
Ladybank
Tamworth
Staffordshire
B79 7NA
Tel – 01827 709629"
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