First of all, this is a great UK family day out for all ages and my guide to maximising your Warwick Castle tickets will ensure that you have the best day possible. Absorb yourself in more than 1000 years of history, with a little bit of Merlin magic sprinkled in to truly bring the castle to life for the the whole family.

1.Try to get there before 10am for the closer car park

An early arrival is not as essential as theme parks as there are no rides to queue for, but you will save 10-15 minutes walking time by getting into the first car park. Once this fills up (which is generally pretty quickly), you will be directed to the overflow car parking field which is a 20 minute walk from the entrance and less buggy friendly, particularly if there is mud!.

2.Get princess tower tickets first and take your own sword!

On entering the castle after going through the turnstiles, for some reason, everybody turns left, which leads slightly away from the castle and towards the maze. Turn right, and then take the next left to enter the castle. The princess tower will be opposite you: you will see the princesses standing there giving out time slot tickets. The tower is essentially a 15 minute live experience, which is charming, and suitable for under 8s. Time slots do run out relatively quickly which is why I advise this as a first stop.

During peak season (check carefully, as we were disappointed when we visited one weekend in the summer), there is a highly popular ‘knight school’ that takes place, usually on the lawn outside the castle, which looks like loads of fun. All that the kids will need is their own sword, so if you don’t want to purchase one onsite, take one along with you (if you are like our household and have several in the dressing up box!).

3. Read up on some of its history in advance

I think that the kids gain a lot more from visiting historical sites when they know a little about its contextual history. When you are all set with your Warwick Castle tickets, why not spend some time looking at these fascinating facts together, or watch a fun video to get an idea of the castle’s rich and varied history.

4. Take your own hotdogs

Very important, and something that I previously mentioned in my Legoland tips post: the hot dog trick! We always take a flask of boiling water filled with hot dogs and then make them up for lunch. It’s best to rinse the flask with hot water once before filling it up, and then fill it up again with the boiling water and hot dogs. We take sachets of ketchup and serviettes too, and whilst this sounds slightly overkill, there is something extremely satisfying about getting a hot lunch and saving in excess of £20 each time (and to keep mentioning our savings to each other in a smug way!).

5. Try to sit near the flight path for the birds of prey show

Where you sit or stand for the birds of prey show ‘The Falconer’s Quest’ will have a big impact on your enjoyment of the show. The best fun to be had is when you are on the ‘flight path’ wherein you can almost feel the talons of the condor sweeping centimetres above you! Our favourite spot is standing behind the benches. The benches obviously do provide seating, but unless you are right up the front, your line of site is obscured as they are not tiered. Furthermore, if you want a seat on the benches, you need to arrive 30-45 minutes before show time, and that is not necessarily ideal with little people in tow. As aforementioned, stand just behind them, or look out for the bird landing platforms and position yourself in the middle between two of them.

So there you go! I hope that these help you out on your visit. Do drop me a comment if you have any further recommendations and I would love for you to give me an Instagram or Twitter follow so that we can stay connected 🙂