When I saw the weather forecast for this Easter weekend I have to admit my heart sank a little as what has been a gorgeous sunny week would change into wet, windy and miserable weekend.
I had planned lots of Easter fun with the kids, joining in trails with the National Trust and local country parks and although we may still do one more, it is weather dependant as a few local events have been cancelled already. Good Friday looked like it was going to be the best day, so I decided to take the kids out to Lulworth Castle for their Easter Fun Day and test out their new Joules wellies that we had been sent to review.
Lulworth Castle is one of my favourite places to visit in Dorst, having been built in the early 17th Century as a hunting lodge. It is a stunning building set in the spectacular Dorset countryside and just a few minutes away from Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door.
I have to admit that we forgot about Bank Holiday traffic and got stuck in a traffic jam on the way over, but thankfully a little Dorset country road knowledge sprinkled with a bit of luck got us out of a pickle and we arrived at our destination. Two adults and eight children were ready to get hunting.
The great thing about the events organised at Lulworth Castle is that everything was includes in the entry price, so there were no hidden extra’s, apart from food. There was so much to do that the whole day was easily filled and we were there from late morning until it closed at 5pm.
We headed for the castle first where we got to explore inside and had to find ten eggs that were hidden in walls, on tables etc. Even though there were no eggs hidden upstairs the kids were keen to climb to the top and see what they could see, which included Poole Harbour in the distance.
Inside the castle there was the chance to get creative at their crafting sessions and Eliza made a puppet and coloured in a picture, in another room there was a bouncy castle and hula hoops to play with, in the playroom were old school toys and dolls and the chance to build an arch, or you could just explore all the artefacts in each room.
The castle is well worth a visit for its historical rooms, but the addition of all the fun things for the kids to do really made their day.
Once we had found all ten eggs, the kids got their books stamped and were rewarded with a lollipop, before heading back outside where there were some more challenges to do. Our first port of call was the wooded area where we had to find ten fairy doors and collate which door was what colour.
There was also a challenge to find the squirrels for an extra prize and we found some on the same trail as the fairy doors so wrote then down in our books too. The trail led us to the play area so we stopped and played for a while before getting distracted by some stunning peacocks.
The ‘Bunny Challenge’ was also dotted around the park, with shields to find each asking a question. By answering all the questions you then had to decipher the word to get another prize.
The fun didn’t stop their as the girls found some extra tokens hidden on the steps which meant yet another prize. We also stopped to play some lawn games and a special pitch and putt where I am pretty sure some cheating was going on.
We finished the day off with an ice cream treat and collected the kids haul of eggs and lollies for completing each challenge. As we walked to the car the kids discovered a big hill and decided to finish the day with some racing and rolling down it.
The wellies were much needed as, because of the weather, the site was quite muddy with large puddles to splash through in places. They kept Isaac and Eliza’s feet nice and dry as well as looking great too. I love that Eliza’s co-ordinate with her Gilet and Isaac’s with his fleece and all quite by accident too!
Regular readers might recognise Lulworth as the site of Camp Bestival and much as I love the festival, I have to admit it was lovely to visit on a much quieter day and explore the grounds as they are the rest of the year.
That looks fab and somewhere we’ve never been. Love the games, such a great idea for kids to try different things #CountryKids
What a great place to visit and you chose the best day of the Easter weekend. I was itching to get out too but with Activity hour it wasn’t to be, but we did manage to take advantage of the weather and do nearly all our Easter crafts and hunts outdoors, I think my Egg hunt tomorrow will be more of a showery affair! I love the look of the different activities you found to do and well done to the kids on completing all the challenges. I bet that was quite a lolly and egg haul by the end! It is the sign of a good day when it is extended with a little hill rolling. Let’s hope the sunshine returns during the Easter break. Thank you for sharing with me on #CountryKids
It really was a lovely day on Friday and looks like you made the most of it. I must admit we love these places when they are quieter without the crowds that are attracted by big events
it looks so different when CB isn’t there!
What a spectacular looking castle – I wouldn’t mind a night in that bed!
Shame this wether has turned bad, but at least Friday was lovely.
What a fab looking castle! I’m definitely putting this on the ‘if in the area’ list, I love that there is so much to do!
Looks a perfect Easter day out for the family. I love the look of Lulworth Castle.
This looks fabulous and definitely somewhere for us to check out when we are staying in Dorset this summer. Thanks, Mich x
What a gorgeous day – and so much to do there. I think everyone dashed out on Friday (certainly near us) because of the forecast as well, although it was a beautiful day to be outdoors. #countrykids
aaahhhh hill rolling, a great pastime.
I love to wander round historic castles but the children often found it boring, but lovely to see them providing so much hands on stuff to interest the children so that hopefully they will come back one day as an adult.
Lots of nice Easter pastimes there, and yes traffic is a problem with bank holidays anywhere, glad you knew the area enough to get round it.
What a fantastic place to visit. It looks like it is somewhere that has something for all the family.
This looks like such a great day out for all the family. Great fun.
You know I remember going to a castle as a child and it was amazing – and I think this may be the very one. It certainly sounds like it has a lot to entertain the children. I do appreciate everything being included in the price too.
Here in the United States castles obviously aren’t commonplace, so to me the opportunity to go to a historical castle would be AWESOME – Easter activities for the kidlets would just be a nice bonus. 🙂
Your photos are great, and I’m glad to hear you had a good time – that’s always the goal with an outing.
It looks like you had a fab day and glad the rain held off. It’s throwing it down here now do change of plans needed today – gutted!
So happy that the weather was lovely for your day out at Lulworth Castle. Looks like a great place to visit x
What a wonderful place to visit and I guess you were luck with the weather. The photos shows that you all had a lovely time.
This looks like a lovely day out. I love those Easter trails they do on estates — so much fun!
Looks like a brilliant place to visit at Easter, I love looking around castles.