What better way to start our family staycation in Durham than at one of the most impressive and best preserved medieval castles in England! After breakfast at Hotel Indigo in Durham city centre we set off to the beautiful Durham Dales to explore Raby Castle, built in the 14th Century by the powerful Nevill Family. On the way I read out loud the castles 600 year-long history, including being the spot where the Rising of the North was plotted. I was most interested to read that it was the birth place of Cicely Neville, the Duchess of York, known as ‘Rose of Raby’ the mother of Kings Edward IV and Richard III.
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Exploring Raby Castle with kids
My boys loved following the kids trail around Raby Castle and took it very seriously! It was quite funny watching them running about with their activity booklets and pencils. We went searching for the Raby Hunt eblem, Freddie the Fix who is engraved in furniture throughout the castle.
Whilst they thought they were just having fun exploring it was a very educational trail involving counting sides in the Octagon drawing-room, spotting the differences between the family’s home and servants quarters and designing shields. All of the questions on the trail resulted in lots of discussion, (particularly from my very inquisitive 6-year-old) and I know they both learnt so much from our couple of hours in the castle and grounds.
Don’t miss attractions at Raby Castle
Make sure you pick up a kids trail guide as you enter the castle grounds, it will keep your little ones interested as you walk around the castle. The kitchens are very impressive (as seen above) and resulted in lots of questions from my two. The cafe located in the old stables is really quirky and definitely worth a visit after your tour around the castle as is the Coach House, home to an impressive collection of 18th and 19th century coaches and carriages. My boys loved the fire engine which would have been horse-drawn back in the day.
We visited on a very wet day but had it been dry we would have walked around the grounds to get closer to the herds of red and fallow deer who live in the castles 200 acre estate. My boys would also have loved the woodland adventure playground.
On our drive out of the estate we spotted in the distance one herd of red deer, speckled with a couple of white deer who had clearly tagged along for fun. We were quite unlucky with the weather to be honest, in the summer months the grounds would be a lovely setting for a family picnic…
Length of time needed at Raby Castle
We spent two hours exploring the castle and then enjoyed a hot drink and cake in the stable cafe. On a dry day you could easily spend five hours here with kids enjoying lunch, exploring the grounds and the outdoor woodland adventure playground.
What age is Raby Castle best for?
I think it’s a great attractions to visit with kids 3+. Due to being a historical attraction it’s not fully accessible with push chairs and so if you do take younger kids I would use a baby carrier. My nearly 4-year-old loved the castle trail and fully understood the questions, this is not an interactive attraction however with things for kids to be touching, climbing on etc. Both of my boys had to be told several times not to go under rope barriers and not to sit on seats/touch artefacts. (If you are looking for this sort of attraction look out for my rave review of nearby Beamish Museum coming soon). My boys soon got the hang of looking for engraved animals in furniture, counting creatures/people in paintings instead and genuinely had a fun time here.
Raby Castle address & prices
Address – Raby Castle, Staindrop, Darlington DL2 3AH
Prices – You can either buy tickets for castle, park and gardens or just park and gardens and you can save money by buying a family ticket. Check out prices here. It’s also worth knowing that you don’t have to pay to go into the coffee shop, gift shop or Coach House so if you are in the area and looking for a lunch venue it’s worth swinging by. Also worth checking discount sites for cheaper entry tickets too. (April 2018 – There is currently a deal with Travel Zoo which discounts the tickets by 43%).
Other attractions near Raby Castle
We would have stayed at the Raby Castle estate longer but we wanted to also fit in a visit to the nearby Bowes Museum to see the famous silver swan show and take a walk up to High Force Waterfall. Our other reviews featuring our time in Durham can be found here – Beamish open air museum & Hotel Indigo Durham.
Raby Castle website: www.rabycastle.com
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Disclaimer – We visited Raby Castle as part of our Easter break press trip at Hotel Indigo organised by the Durham tourist board, This Is Durham. All thoughts and words are, as always, my own.
Brilliant day out. We have four children under the age of 9 and all really enjoyed the trail through the castle. If only other castles did trails so taylored towards children. We are outside in the covered cafe area food was lovely and very fresh. Easter trail round gardens was also great followed by a play in the playground area.
I can’t believe I’ve never been here! It looks fantastic! We love Castles and I reckon Raby Castle is around a 90 minute drive from us.