Heart of England - Warwickshire

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KENILWORTH CASTLE & ELIZABETHAN GARDEN

Kenilworth,
Warwickshire
CV8 1NG
t: 01926 852078
e: Kenilworth.castle@english-heritage.org.uk
w: www.english-heritage.org.uk/kenilworth

A trip to one of England’s biggest and most impressive ruined castles is sure to give your group a memorable day out. In 1575 it was the setting for a 19-day party, when Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, attempted to win the hand of Queen Elizabeth I. Visitors can scale the heights of the tower he built to woo her and experience the viewing platforms to get a ‘queen’s-eye view’. The recreated Elizabethan garden is also a colourful depiction of the couple’s romance. Fast-forward just over 300 years and the castle was bought by the car and aviation pioneer, John Davenport Siddeley. A recently opened exhibition celebrating his life and achievements will offer your groups the chance to relive the glamour of early motoring.


  • Climb the stairs of Leicester’s Building to imagine the queen’s private apartments in their heyday and to admire the views over the castle and countryside, just as Queen Elizabeth I and her innermost circle would have done.
     
  • Wander through the most complete evocation of an Elizabethan garden anywhere in England – including a dazzling 5.5-metre (18-foot) high marble fountain and bejewelled aviary.
     
  • Take a trip back into the exciting era of classic cars and aviation innovation and visit the recently opened exhibition ‘Speed and Power: John Siddeley, Pioneer of the Motor Age’.
     
  • Explore the imposing and still complete Elizabethan gatehouse, with an exhibition that tells the royal love story of Elizabeth and the earl. The rooms are furnished as they were in the 1930s, when the last caretaker moved out.
     
  • Wander through the massive red sandstone Norman keep and medieval great hall range, favourite residence of Henry V and the early Tudor kings.
     
  • Discover Kenilworth Castle’s nine centuries of history – including an epic medieval siege – in an exhibition in the Tudor Stables.

 

ITINERARY IDEA

Kenilworth Castle fits ideally into tours which also include Shakespeare’s Stratford-upon-Avon.

 

TIE IT INTO YOUR TRIP

Only 12 miles from the M40, it’s well worth slipping off the motorway and into these time-worn castle ruins.