Haunted Tudor Castle Hotel - Welcome to Thornbury Castle
Spending Valentines night at this hotel was truly amazing .
To be perfectly honest I had never heard of Thornbury Castle before, which is odd as I like visiting Castles, but I'm so glad it was recommended.
We dropped the kids at school, left Granny to do the pick up and headed off on our merry way.
As we were leaving early we'd decided to stop at Bath on the drive up for a look around and a spot of lunch. If you have never been to Bath it is great to wander around and is steeped in history. The park and ride is easy to use and reasonably priced.
For the best Macarons in Bath (my opinion anyway!) head to Cafe Pastel, as it was to early for lunch we grabbed coffee, hot chocolate and macarons for our walk. With so much to see and very little time we made our way round fitting in as much as possible. The obvious being The Roman Baths and a visit to Bath Abbey.
For lunch we found a place at the top end of town as that's where the walking had taken us. Chandos Deli was the choice and it did not disappoint the staff were friendly and the food was brilliant, just what was required for the trek back to the bus stop (I say trek as I may have taken us the long way round!).
Back in the car for the last hours drive to Thornbury.
Arriving at Thornbury Castle was one of those wow moments, the Hotel/Castle is just stunning.
We made our way to reception to check-in, then headed to our room - Prince Arthur - Even the door to the room had character. The room itself was great, huge bed, chandelier, fireplace and fixtures that gave it that Tudor feel. The bathroom, well we were not expecting what was behind the door, it was huge, bigger than some hotel rooms I've stayed in!
After unpacking, we headed out into the Hotel grounds to have a look around
the hotel had it's own vegetable patch, the produce of which used on the dining menu. We took a walk around the garden, which I can imagine when in bloom is an amazing site, the hedges were all trimmed and set, there were old ruins along the castle wall and a small cemetery, separate from that of the Church. The Church was the next stop, I've never been the religious type, but the architecture and carvings that go into building Church's amaze's me.
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After exploring the area, we headed back to get ready for the evening meal.
Making our way into the dining room, we were shown to our table, as it was Valentines it was beautifully decorated with a Rose also on the table.
The staff were amazing, they explained the menu, made sure any allergies were covered and then proceeded with the service, drinks and an amuse-bouche.
Amuse-bouche
Starter
Main
Dessert
The whole dinner experience was incredible, we were taken on a mouth watering journey with each course, it was the right amount, just enough to leave room for the next course. We were talked through each dish as it came out, and told stories of ghostly happenings in the dining area and the hotel, unfortunately we didn't have any ghostly sightings this time, I'm very tempted to go back and see if we can book one of the haunted rooms!
With bellies full of amazingly tasty food, we left the dining area to stroll the castle grounds
The castle lights up brilliantly at night and has a wonderful atmosphere for walking around, you start thinking about what life at the castle would have been like all those years ago.
We took our time strolling before heading back into the castle, to head to the library.
Taking a seat, not the comfy sofa, we ordered up a night cap hot chocolate to accompany the game of chess...I lost!
The library again was stunning and the stories the walls could tell would be amazing, it would have been a grand room within the castle with the open fireplace and shelves of books, we did however find ourselves looking for any hint of secret doors!
Next morning we once again headed to the dining room, to find out how breakfast would stand up against the evening menu....I for one was not disappointed. The full English to start the day, with toast and jams and a pot of tea.
That was more than enough to see us through to lunchtime!
Having one last look around upstairs before we left we were shown a couple of secret switches....won't give them away, you'll have to visit to find them, but alas no secret rooms or passages.
We had such an amazing time, it was a shame to leave but we had to head back to collect the kids.
If you love you history or just want to stay in a Tudor Castle I fully recommend giving Thornbury Castle a try.
Let us know below if you went and if you experienced any ghostly activities.
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