A visit to a Castle - Carrickfergus
posted in Antrim, Outdoors |Carrickfergus Castle, Carrickfergus
We headed from Glengormley to Carrickfergus which is well sign posted. Carrickfergus is located 25 minutes from Belfast up the M5 motorway. It is well sign posted from all routes. Carrick is a cute little town with a lovely marina/harbour, steeped in history which is well noted throughout the town.
We arrived at 1.30 to find the castle not open until 2pm. (We are out of season so the opening times will differ in high season). We decided to take a wander down to see the boats and walk along the harbour. It could have been an idyllic walk as the weather was good, cold but sunny. The views were fabulous and you could see the Isle of Man. Sadly you could not walk more than 10 yards without encountering a pile of dog mess. It was scattered along the marina like land-mines. It was scattered at the base of every obstacle and had even been landed on steps. It was disgusting. After two direct hits, (both the 6 year old and the 5 year old) I gave it up as a lost cause.
We headed back and went to the public toilets to clean ourselves up. They were clean and well kept (ladies only viewed).
It was nearly 2pm so we headed to the entrance of the castle. A number of other families were waiting as well. When the bolt was slid across the front door all the kids ran (as did some of the grown ups actually). It was fun to see. We were given a map and started at the Keep. This is three story building which housed all manner of excitement. The well, the banqueting hall, the spiral staircases with the famous Trip Step, the Royal lavatory complete with King John! We stopped on the third floor to play a game of giant Snakes and Ladders. They also have a huge game of chess which we attempted to play (I need to brush up on my chess skills I think, I have forgotten how the king is allowed to move! Eek). We did enjoy jumping the knights over everyone though. We had the place to ourselves for some time which was nice. After heading down the spiral staircase we ventured outside and dived straight into more history. We scaled the walls and looked out over the sea. We played on cannons and visited the bowmen. We visited a bloke in jail with only two fingers! All in all it was a good day out and the kids enjoyed it immensely. We all did.
The gift shop on the site is reasonably priced and offers a good range of cheap trinkets for the kids to buy as a souvenir of their day out. It also stocks some very nice gifts which are again not overpriced in my opinion. There is a cafe area which has a couple of vending machines. The snack machine was out of order on this visit but we managed an ok coffee and some soft drinks for the kids.
WOW Overview
Kids Say:
6 year old: Liked the castle and would like to have seen a princess for real. Did not like the trip step as it was very scarey, so was the dog in the Keep. Really liked wondering around the castle and the grounds.
5 year old: Liked the castle and like pretending to have a big sword and fighting the baddies. Liked the man in jail and the man with the bow and arrow under the ground. Liked the big dog in the Keep because he was not really real.
Stress Level: 0 (A very relaxed and easy day out. Some of the steps would be a bit more worrying if the kids were younger.)
Fun Level: 5 (Lots of fun and educational. I would like to think we all learned something :).)
Cost Level: 2 (At £3.00 for an adult and £1.50 each child I thought it was very good value. I think the vending machines cost me less than £2.00 for a coke, a water and a coffee. The gift shop cost me £4.00 for an orange quill, a little silver knight and a cross necklace.)
