(Berkeley Castle)
The dust has settled since we closed our gates to visitors
for the season just over a month ago! A massive thank you to everyone involved
in making 2015 such a fantastic year – from all our wonderful visitors, school
groups and the annual dig, to our brilliant team of staff and volunteers who
have such an outstanding knowledge of the Castle & its history and who keep
everything ticking along.
I caught up with Operations Manager, Jackie, following the
closure of the gates. From great visitor numbers to wonderful TripAdvisor
reviews…. Jackie has been absolutely delighted with how successful the open
season has been this year.
(The Apostles Porch)
Introducing a more family friendly approach with a whole
range of fun activities including jester activity sheets, arts and crafts and a
dressing up area was all greatly welcomed by our younger visitors (and even
some of the parents!). One of the highlights for the year for Jackie was the
Easter Dragons, which proved so popular we will be having them back for four
whole days from Good Friday next year. The year saw many other entertainers at
Berkeley Castle, including: falconry shows; deer hound racing; battling
knights; medieval jesters and beastly Berkeley. But one of the most heart-warming
aspects of the job for Jackie is seeing happy visitors wandering through the
castle with the appreciation that there really is something for everyone here.
Whether that be the aforementioned children’s activities, our historical tours
of the castle, a peaceful moment of tranquility in the garden, transporting
yourself to a tropical paradise in our butterfly house or a delicious afternoon
cream tea in the Yurt…. No matter what age, everyone was able to find their own
little slice of Berkeley Castle heaven.
(Family Fun)
Easter is always the busiest time of the year at Berkeley so
it is no surprise that Easter Monday saw our highest ever number of visitors,
it is truly lovely to think that families make a trip to Berkeley Castle as an
annual event. Often we will hear of several generations having visited the
castle & grounds with many past generations also having made the trip all
those years ago. For example, one of our lovely visitors left us a note to thank
us and said that the purpose of their trip was to bring her children after her first
visit some 35 years ago! Jackie has also been overwhelmed with the number of
people who have taken the time to write such kind comments on our TripAdvisor
page. http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g503817-d215314-Reviews-Berkeley_Castle-Berkeley_Cotswolds_England.html
(Jackie & Roland meeting her Royal Highness)
A personal highlight for Jackie was our visit from the
Countess of Wessex to open our Hidden Treasures Exhibition. The Countess of
Wessex arrived at Berkeley Castle by helicopter, welcomed by the children from
Berkeley Primary School on arrival. Charles Berkeley then proceeded to give her
Royal Highness Sophie a private tour of the Castle. Castle staff &
volunteers then gathered in the Great Hall with a select few able to meet her
Royal Highness… and of course a classic British Cream Tea was enjoyed by all.
Welcoming her Royal Highness to Berkeley Castle was not only an honour but it
was also a privilege to meet such a kind and caring member of the royal family.
(Berkeley Castle Grounds)
After such an exciting year in 2015… You might be asking
yourself what you can expect to see next year at Berkeley Castle. Well…. we
plan to continue developing the family activities, making sure there is fun for
all the family. As well as that we will be putting on a Tudor Festival in May
Half Term and also a fantastic performance of the Midsummer Night’s Dream play
in celebration of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. Did
you know that the play was inspired by a Berkeley Family Wedding? As well as
weekly activities during the school holidays such as our entertaining jester,
archery, arts & crafts and much more… we also have a very exciting surprise
lined up for Easter Weekend! But you will have to keep your eyes and ears open
to hear what that is… whilst you wait, here is a lovely video to remind you of lots of the happy times at Berkeley Castle from this year!
Berkeley Castle will re-open for Easter Weekend from Friday 25th March to Monday 28th March 2016 and then every
Sunday – Wednesday from the 3rd April to 26th October 2016.
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