We recently had an overnight break in this gorgeous castle as I spotted an offer with Groupon and it coincided with an antique fair I wanted to visit in Hexham ( the castle is 6 miles or so from there).
It was pretty expensive even with the offer but the castle, and our room, the Cadwallader, was truly gorgeous. It was set in green surroundings and very quiet and peaceful , no traffic noise here, even the other guests were quiet.
The bed was large and comfortable and within 15 minutes of our arrival we were brought fresh coffee and home made shortbread to the very well equipped room. The bathroom was all marble and with excellent toiletries and it had a fabulous window seat but sadly the only wildlife we saw was blackbirds and crows! ( we did though hear the owl and I am sure other times of year would be good for wildlife).
We decided not to eat there as the meal was £47.50 each for three courses and the vegetarian offerings were not up to much – I was not prepared to pay that sort of price for cauliflower cheese and expected better. We also had a scone ( included in deal) with tea or coffee in the drawing room – this was a lovely room again but the scone was very dry and disappointing. Breakfast, again in a wonderful stone room downstairs, was better. They served all courses so no buffet, I had some very nice yoghurt with poached apricots and we also got a fresh smoothie. Again the cooked breakfast was a little disappointing as the vegetarian offering was one small mushroom, 1 egg, 1 tomato and 2 veggie sausages whereas the meat option was far more generous.
None of the rooms in the castle are suitable for people with mobility issues as they are reached via a spiral staircase but ground floor rooms were available in an annexe and the dining room was also accessible with no stairs.
