Last year I treated us to English Heritage membership. To be fair it was a no brainer. Membership for two adults, with L free, is £30 in Tesco Clubcard Vouchers. So it was next to no money. L loves castles, English Heritage have a lot. It’s free days out for a year.
I’m going to try to write about all the properties we visit using our membership. What I liked, didn’t like, share some pictures. We’ve already made our money back on the membership, so I am very happy it is good value for money.
Barnard Castle – County Durham
We visited Barnard Castle on our second trip to County Durham last year. Husb and I were having a weekend away at Wynyard Hall
and this had been on my list since our first visit to this wonderful area. Barnard Castle is right in the centre of a gorgeous village, with loads of parking, shops and pubs. We had a lovely walk round the village and down towards the river as well as stopping for some fab fish and chips. It makes for a very good day out. 
Facilities
The Castle has a small shop and bathrooms. There is plenty of nearby parking. As the town has so much to offer the castle itself really doesn’t need anymore. It’s very easy to find and very well kept with plenty of information boards. 
The Castle
The castle has several areas to explore. The outer walls, a small garden. Fabulous towers. We went on a wet and windy day and spent about an hour exploring, reading all the information boards and soaking up the atmosphere.
With a few sections of wooden walkway and bridges you can access a lot and I was rather sad we take L as he would have loved running round all the open space and exploring.
There is plenty of space and as we were leaving a rather large tour group arrived. What I thought was nice, was that even with a huge influx of people it still didn’t feel crowded as the site is large enough that you can just look round the areas the group isn’t.
I would definitely recommend a walk to the river so you can look back at the castle, it makes for a rather fabulous picture. 
Opening Times & Prices
| WITHOUT GIFT AID | WITH GIFT AID | |
|---|---|---|
| Member | Free | Free |
| Adult | £5.40 | £6.00 |
| Child (5-15 yrs) | £3.20 | £3.60 |
For full details of times and prices please visit the English Heritage Website, these are only a snapshot.
Overall
Barnard Castle is very impressive with a lot to see. It is well worth a visit and I’m really pleased we got the chance to look around. Even the weather didn’t spoil our day.
Coupling this with the very attractive town and gorgeous walk to the river you can easily fill a day.
I would say the Castle takes around 1 hour to look around, we may have spent slightly longer if the weather was better and we had bought L with us as he would have happily just had a run around for a bit.
I really enjoyed it and would visit again if in the area. 
We definitley need to get the girls out more this year as was in the process of moving last year so just didnt have the time or finances. i love the annual passes as even on the days you’re not that flush (most when you have kids) you can take them out of the house for a bit for some fresh air and where better to visit than a castle? Great for all ages and also educational.
Def look into the English Heritage membership then. I’m completely the same and can’t afford a load of days out, so an annual membership is great for me.