To be really horrified at an unguarded well in National Trust Bodiam Castle?

[booface]

I was at this castle yesterday and not actually with kids. But really shocked at this. There was a moat to walk over to get to the castle, and of course if you had little kids you would see that they could conceivably fall in so you would take care.

But inside the actual castle off the "kitchen" ruin there was a turret with a well. Not even a well that you would have to climb up to get into, a well in the floor at ground level that was god knows how deep. There was a set of railings around it, but not a mesh railing, just two parallel bars that a toddler could so easily slip under. What got me was it was so unexpected, a child could easily run in there and you would not be expecting deep water.

The weird thing was that areas like the bread oven off the old fireplace were safely guarded off.

I mentioned it to the attendant at the door to the castle but he just said it was the parents responsibility to watch kids in the castle.

Am I over reacting or should I e-mail the head of national trust?

A bit unreasonable. But I can understand why.

If you want to see terrifying lack of Heath and safety though,visit the Moorish castle in Sintra,Portugal. Stairs with no rails with an 800 foot drop up to the watch towers (no I did not climb them). Actually,no rails of any kind whatsoever. I walked the inner walls like a gecko.

But by the same token,I think it would have taken away from the place if it had had rails,signs and things fenced off.

'What do you think they did in C14th' is the funniest thing I've seen on MN this year. So sanctimonious in only the way MN can be, brilliant.

So sorry you didn't get my irony, Hardhitting.

Don't take toddlers to castles - wait until you can accept the risks.

magi I thought what you said was funny. I didn't get the following comment!

Yabu

I love Bodiam. I have been there a hundred times with small children amd not worried about anything in the slightest. This country is mad enough already in terms of health and safety without people making it worse - you ought to try Central Europe for a healthy dose of normality. They'll let little kids do alsorts of fun things there.... ;-)