A few moons ago I wrote a guest post of Emma’s blog called The Ultimate Kiwi OE Bucket List and one of the things I suggested was a night in a castle. Let’s be honest, your home is your castle however staying in a castle that King Henry VIII visited with little Miss Slutty Pants i.e. Anne Boleyn; you ain’t going to have that experience in New Zealand. After not much discussion Emma and I choose to play princess for a night at Thornbury Castle in Gloucestershire.
Arriving at Thornbury Castle was slightly confusing as there are no flashing lights or signs to say that there is a castle in your mists. Thank goodness for a highly unreliable Irish lady who plays hard to get with directions on the sat nat whom on this occasion almost got us to the right location! A tiny sign on the gate indicated that we had arrived and then it was castle castle castle castle; we were slightly excited even though this was our third castle of the day.
Check in was a breeze and we were shown to our lovely room; the Woodstock suite which was quite fitting as we had visited Blenheim Palace earlier in the day at Woodstock. To say that we were in awe of our room was an understatement. We were told that nothing was off limits, how many hotels tell you that!
So are you ready for a snoop inside the Woodstock suite; here you go!
Our four poster bed which was perfect for belly flops however we had to do a bit of a high jump to get into it! Oh the giggles and the crazy photos of a flying kiwi!
These were the most comfortable chairs and perfect for relaxing in with a glass of sherry (it’s complimentary)…oh for a blanket of snow to be on the ground outside and the fire in our room roaring to keep us toasty and warm…
Oh yes the room features included a fire, desk and the cutest windows ever!
And let’s just say we had the biggest bathroom I’m sure you will ever find in a castle which included a shower, bath, toilet (we are no longer in the dark ages thankfully!) and lovely Voya full sized toiletries. Love full sized toiletries, means there are no fights trying to squeeze a tiny bottle to death first thing in the morning.
We had popped into Thornbury for dinner (you can read all about it here in my Weekend in Gloucestershire post) but we did come back to the castle for a night cap. These were taken the following day however at night time the place is all dimly lit and it’s just so atmospheric. I told G that I wanted to come back and sent him a photo of the bar area; he was sold on returning just by one photo!
The gardens were still looking beautiful even though the seasons are slowly changing. Can you imagine taking afternoon tea on the lawn, how gloriously English would that be!
In front of the castle is a beautiful church which offers a fantastic position to take photos of the castle in all it’s glory.
A little bit of history of the castle from the Thornbury Castle website – “building work began on this grand castle in 1511 – it was intended as a home for Edward Stafford, the Duke of Buckingham. The castle was almost finished by 1521, when the Duke’s distant cousin, Henry VIII, accused him of treason, then had him beheaded and confiscated his castle. Fourteen years later, Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn enjoyed a ten-day retreat at Thornbury Castle as part of a honeymoon tour”.
Would I stay here again – most definitely! This incredible luxury tudor castle hotel is a place to visit for all the seasons, perfect for a romantic weekend or a fabulous retreat for two tired Kiwi princesses who were on a castle hunting expedition.
The hotel has a two night restriction on the weekends however we found that if you looked on their website midweek (for the coming weekend) they would allow one night stays. If you are looking at staying then I highly recommend booking a Deluxe room; why? As if you are going to stay in castle then you need to sleep in a four poster bed!
You can book your stay at Thornbury Castle to play princess for a night by clicking right here or get your Lady in Waiting to do it for you!
xx
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