£30.25 for entry to Alnwick Castle & Gardens!

[oopsdaisy]

Looking to book a weekend away in Alnwick, amongst other things we wanted to visit the castle. It's £30.25 per adult to see the castle and gardens - so £60.50 in total for me and DH. DC is under 4 so entry is free.

AIBU to think this is extortionate? Or is it really worth it?

Is there a way to get a discount? Can't see any voucher codes for entry.

I’ve been. It’s pretty boring, I’d find something else to do if I were you. Beamish is brilliant.

It’s worth it, fantastic gardens especially the water features and the poison garden.
I think the ticket lasts for a whole year if you have your photo taken when you buy it.

We had fun but we took it in turns to go inside the castle while the other walked the walls etc. with DS.
The gardens were fun for him and us - poison garden, water feature, they had children’s stuff on too as it was half term.

Wow, would it be less expensive to join the National Trust as you get in a bit cheaper then I think??

That does seem pricey. I'd prefer to have a look around Barter Books, although that might not suit some children.

It's worth it.

It’s not a National Trust property.

It is dear. And it's ok but not a must do. If you have NT membership try Cragside nr Rothbury

The gardens on their own are a full day out.

I honestly don't think it's worth it at all.
The gardens ARE nice but if you don't live near there so you'll only be using it once it's just not worth that amount of money. The gardens aren't even that big.

We live near there and have been a few times but only because once you have a pass you can go for a year so it's worth it because you can go in each season:

I'd rather go to cragside or gibside or one of the many many other lovely places in the north east.

Gardeners World magazine (can’t remember if March or April edition) usually does a yearly deal whereby you can get half price entry to gardens all over the country. Alnwick garden was included last year , so if you’re not going soon it would be handy to look out for that.

I would choose one or the other rather than both, when we go with the DC it's a full day out so we only ever do castle or gardens.

Beamish is awesome and far cheaper but it's a canny drive from Alnwick and a total ballache by public transport.

Pick either castle or gardens, you can do a full day in both of them so it's a waste to do both together. We loved it, as your DC is under 4 I would probably choose the gardens unless you are going in January!

We didn’t go in the castle but the gardens on their own were a whole day out. The poison gardens and the fountains, plus the water features are brilliant.

If you think it’s too much I would choose just visiting the gardens over the castle.

I think its worth it and that the price charged reflects the cost of upkeep but it's not obligatory.

How much?!?!?

You can come and look at my garden for a fiver
no castle though

DH suggested going to Lindisfarne instead, £9 each i think.

And I say that because there are so many other great castles to visit in the North East - Bamburgh, Lindisfarne, Warkworth, Newcastle even.

You can get discounts with certain schemes. Can’t remember which one I used though. You have to pay parking on top of that price too! Only been to the gardens but really nice if you time it when an extra event is on such as the cherry blossoms or Halloween.

Can you get it without gift aid or something? Much as I'd love to give sometimes it just adds so much.

I also recommend cragside, had a brilliant visit a few weeks ago. I do really like Alnwick though

We went last summer on holiday, it was a pricey day out but we all absolutely loved it. The castle tickets permit you entry for the full year so we went over two days. We took picnic lunch to keep costs down and just paid for ice creams on the day.
There's a mini golf course too which is extra ££. It is expensive but we loved it.

It was a very hot day we visited and children loved playing in the fountains.

For not a huge amount more, you can join Historic Houses Association and have access to a lot more properties for the entire year. Checking their website Alnwick is free of charge, but it does change sometimes. Joint membership is £89 under 3 free. I have access to Corporate tickets via a sports club and have visited some really interesting places.

It is good there and you can validate you castle ticket to go back there any time within a year, loads to do for little ones in the gardens.
Don’t stay in castle grounds or gardens for food go out into the town, strawberry lounge is fab at lunchtime perfect for kids! Also market tavern does amazing food as does cafe Terrino
Cragside Close by which is good as is barter books. Also all the places by the coast Seahouses holy island are all brilliant.

We do have some nice NT properties up here. The DC love Cragside, we've had lots of happy days out there where the DC can run around in the open air. One is undergoing renovations at the minute and is getting a new tearoom and play area, I can't for the life of me remember which one but we're members and DH said not to bother with it until its finished.

Just buy the gardens; don’t bother with the castle.

Or: beamish (fab, but a fair trip from Alnwick)
Holy island
Cragside (National Trust)