Christmas at Warwick Castle - Light Trail + Entry

Booked online for the castle and skating. However due to the bad weather the skating rink was closed. Upon arrival we were offered an alternative time for skating later same day so we decided to continue our visit around the castle. However most of the usual attractions ie dungeons were also closed. We were told by staff that we needed to email to get a refund on our tickets which I subsequently did. However it took 3 days for a reply and no offer of alternative visit for the castle. we have only been offered a refund on the skating part of our ticket which can take 3 weeks!! Also despite the rainy day policy we were told it was manager discretion to offer alternative date despite the fact it was heavy rain for most of the morning and skate rink closed due to excess rain on the ice!! Shame on you Warwick Castle for terrible customer service.

Took the girls skating - the youngest had never been before. Such a magical place to skate and very local to us. Managed to get a mid week price tickets so made it very affordable. Lost one star for being very wet in places which I appreciate it not completely within their control but we had a lot of rain and it seems it had been left to accumulate. Worth the value price though and it was a magical evening.

Light trail was stunning. Especially for our 2½ yrs old girl. We booked hotel room for a night. Absolutely outstanding customer service we received from Ellie. We stayed in lodge (after heating in our room failed to work). Amazing experience all thanks to Ellie. Restaurant is not cheapest but food was delicious.

We had been wanting to return to Warwick castle for a while, our last visit was in 2018. We were mainly coming for the birds of prey and the light show. We looked around the castle which is still looking as good as it did when we last visited in 2018. Last time we came you could view the different birds of prey on their perches before the birds of prey show. We couldn’t find them so asked a member of staff who said they haven’t done that since Covid and now you can only see the birds at the bird flying show. Gutted! That’s what we came for: my daughter loves birds of prey and wanted to see all the birds. We did still get to see a selection on the flying show but we would have gone somewhere else if we knew you couldn’t view them on their perches anymore. It was a long way to travel for us (4 hour drive). We stayed to do the light trail after the castle had closed which was good. Been to a couple this year and this was the best one we had been too.

I attended on 30/12 for an ice skating session followed by a light trail. As a Merlin pass holder , I got a slight discount on the tickets, but even still found them too dear for the experience. Ice skating was very disappointing , firstly positives - Beautiful backdrop Quick to get on ice Negatives- Rink too small for who was attending Far too many ice skating aids allowed on, you couldn’t skate , without being behind or going into one, it meant anyone who could skate, were constantly queuing ! It was also unsafe due to how many and I witnessed a few falls. People going in all different directions trying to get some space -making it even more dangerous. I had booked for a Christmas treat as per title ,’ Christmas at the castle’ -music was awful dance . We asked if we could have a few Christmas songs to the organisers at the side and they refused . They said that was before Christmas -not now…. Very disappointing and took away some Of the magic . Light trail was beautiful , I enjoyed walking through , however a couple of niggles… Very crowded , meaning queuing again….. Nice Christmas songs ! Very dark in parts with some uneven ground-could be an issue for some with mobility issues. We needed to turn on a torch . -no signs or anyone to point this out. The worse issue was the food vans in the middle ! ( not the market by the castle , these were high also -but midway through the walk) There were only a few and the prices were shocking !! I think they should be reported to trading standards! A hot chocolate was 6.75!! I’ve never seen anything like it -my daughter is older and said she would happily wait as she couldn’t believe the price , but younger children may have been upset… i was very disappointed with Warwick castle for allowing it… Also at the end marshmallow sticks to toast 5.00 !! This was shocking … as they had 3 marshmallows on a stick -what a greedy mark up! I’ve been to luminate in coombe abbey before and much more reasonable prices. For this reason , I wouldn’t return or recommend …. It could have been so much better but Warwick castle are taking advantage and that’s sad to see as it’s not a cheap experience -without any extras