Alnwick Castle | Harry Potter Broomstick Training

During our recent visit to Alnwick Gardens we noticed that Alnwick Castle (which sits next door to the Gardens) was holding a Harry Potter Day. We scoured the internet to find a 20% off discount code from Primary times (sorry, it's expired now) and decided that although we would only spend a few hours at the Castle the £30ish cost for family entry would be worth it as we could validate our ticket for a year and visit as often as we would like for free in the next 12 months (make sure you validate your ticket at the ticket office - they need to take your photograph and give you a separate pass).

We only spent around 90 minutes at the Castle but tried to pack a lot in, we will be following up with a more in depth review this Summer.

Broomstick Training

Broomstick training takes place daily at Alnwick Castle and is included in your admission. You just need to pop along to Knight's Quest and sign up to a slot (more info here). We joined in with a lunch time session which lasted around 20 minutes. Your 'teachers' are in character the whole time and really get into the spirit of the session. Adults are encouraged to take part too! Everyone is given their own broomstick and you will learn how to fly and levitate your broom from the ground. Magical!

WOW! Harry is flying!!

Preparing for a crash landing

Looking super cool as I levitate my broom!

Harry Potter Inspired Characters

In case you weren't aware, Alnwick Castle was one of the filming locations for the Harry Potter movies and on certain dates  Potter inspired characters from the movie will be on site walking around and presenting magic shows. Obviously they aren't the real Harry Potter stars but I did have to look twice for a second as they were very realistic! Harry Potter gathered the troops after broomstick training and we settled down to watch some Potter magic with Harry and Professor Dumbledore.

Of course we got roped in to help - we are cousins of the Weasley's after all!

The show lasted 20-30 minutes and had everyone laughing plus there was some actual real magic involved too! The audience was certainly captivated.

Knight's Quest

Knight's Quest is a a fantastic area located in the medieval courtyard of Alnwick Castle. There are free medieval crafts, some fantastic chances to dress up, play traditional games and even train as a Knight as Jack enthusiastically demonstrates in this video:-

Photographs speak louder than words I think, take a look at the Knight's Quest area below, it really is fantastic for families.

Dragon Quest

Dragon Quest is a permanent part of Knight's Quest. It is only for the very courageous though as is dark and scary in places - especially as you reach Northumberland's most feared dragon at the end! For those who are brave enough (like our 6 and 8 year old) it is a really fun challenge and exciting too. 

That concludes our whistle stop tour of Alnwick Castle - there was so much we didn't explore (we didn't even venture inside to see the beautiful State rooms) and we can't wait to return in the Summer with our validated ticket for free. We'll definitely take a picnic and make a day of it then.

Check out Alnwick Castle's Website for opening times, admission prices and special events.

I'm linking this up to the Pigeon Pair & me #CulturedKids