Last Updated on 2 May 2024 by Colette
This post features a gifted experience & affiliate links
During our recent stay at Wild Rose Holiday Park in Appleby-in-Westmoreland, we visited Lowther Castle and Gardens, Penrith. Lowther Castle and Gardens is about half an hour’s drive from Wild Rose Holiday Park or just under two hours from our home in Manchester.
We spent about four hours at Lowther Castle and Gardens though could have easily spent the whole day there exploring. I wanted to share with you 10 things we loved about Lowther Castle!
10 things we loved about Lowther Castle and Gardens
The castle itself
This might seem obvious but the castle itself is stunning from the outside – it was so perfect we said it reminded us of a LEGO castle. Walking down to it from the car park we were in awe of the beautiful building.
Home to the Lowther family for 850 years, Lowther Castle and Gardens is now leased and managed by The Lowther Castle and Gardens Trust providing public access to the historical grounds and managing a programme of restoration and regeneration.
The stunning courtyard
As you enter the castle grounds from the car park, you find yourself in a stunning courtyard – with some beautiful trees. The kids were fascinated when I showed them how the young trees were being trained to grow into a specific shape with a cube framework to support them. The courtyard is where the Lowther Castle café is so you can actually juts visit the café without having to pay to enter the castle if you so fancy. We didn’t eat in the café ourselves as we’d taken a picnic but I must admit I regret not trying out the locally sourced food, freshly prepared in the Lowther kitchens!
Dogs are allowed at Lowther Castle and Gardens
Dogs are welcome at Lowther Castle and Gardens but must be kept on a lead at all times and are not allowed inside the main castle buildings or the Lost Castle Playground. Poppy was more than happy to come and explore with us – and when it came to the kids playing in the adventure playground, Dave went in with them whilst Poppy and I found a nearby bench where we could watch from a safe distance.
The Historic Gardens
Although we visited Lowther Castle during what has felt like the coldest, wettest April ever so the gardens weren’t in full bloom – you could just tell that in the summer months, these gardens would come into their own. Even without flowers the rose garden was beautiful and you can tell that they are meticulously maintained. What I didn’t realise until after our visit is that the rose garden is actually laid out in the shape of an old English rose – you can see some ariel photographs here. The gardens are part of a huge 20-year restoration project with award-winning Garden Designer Dan Pearson.
Plenty of space to explore
The grounds of Lowther Castle and Gardens covers some 130 acres – far more than we could have ever explored in one day. In fact you can actually hire bikes to explore the parkland! Everywhere we turned there was something new to discover from formal gardens to woodland, water features, a big stone bath and summer houses.
An epic adventure playground
This could be a blog post on it’s own! The Lost Castle is one of the UK’s largest adventure playgrounds and quite frankly isn’t to be missed.
At 10, 12 and 14, my kids are pushing it now when it comes to adventure playgrounds – they’re often physically too big or get bored quickly when the equipment poses no challenge for them but The Lost Castle Adventure Playground kept them busy for ages; climbing, sliding and zip lining!
If you have little ones, there’s also a special toddler section which had a while range of awesome equipment including zip wires with bucket seats – Ben would have loved those when he was younger!
There’s a café with toilets nearby but we chose to picnic just outside the woods.
You can watch a really quick video of the Lost Castle playground here to get a feel for it.
Incredible views
These could have easily been missed but just near the woodland café there’s a little path which takes you out onto an area of grass with the most incredible views across the wider Lowther Estate. It’s worth noting that there’s some steep drops here so keep a close eye on your little ones!
Free parking
Parking at Lowther Castle and Gardens is free (though we found it was super busy when we were leaving mid afternoon so definitely recommend an earlier start if you can manage it!)
The option to buy an Annual Pass
Had we lived more locally, I’d have definitely invested in an annual pass – if you do this on the day then your ticket price is knocked off the cost. You’d only have to visit a few times a year before the pass was paying for itself so to speak.
The Castle Ruins
Because we had Poppy with us, we weren’t able to explore inside the main castle buildings but honestly we didn’t mind – my three are much happier exploring the outdoors so couldn’t have cared less about seeing inside the castle itself. Of course had it been a cold, rainy day they might have thought otherwise!
What we didn’t realise was that the castle ruins themselves are accessible with your dog and we could have definitely seen more of the castle. If we had the chance to go again I’d probably leave Poppy at home so that we could explore a little more freely.
Is Lowther Castle & Gardens worth visiting?
If you are staying in the area, we absolutely recommend a trip to Lowther Castle and Gardens. The castle ruins and gardens are open every day from 10am to 4pm in winter and 10am to 5pm in summer. You can pre-book your tickets here priced at £14 for adults and £10 for children. Family tickets are also available offering a small discount. Under 3s and carers go free.
If you’ve got anything else you want to know about Lowther Castle & Gardens, drop me a message below or come find me on instagram and I’ll do my best to answer!
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