After a week of wind and rain it was such a surprise to wake up to blue sunny skies this morning. To make the most of it we got out relatively early for us (10am!) and made our first trip to Castle Cornet. What an amazing place, so much history but also gorgeous views, endless places to discover and cannons around every corner.
We headed into town and parked on the 10hr parking on Castle Pier, opposite Slaughterhouse, and walked over to the raised walkway which leads all the way to the castle. There is a lot of parking all along Castle Pier and around the Model Yacht Pond, lots of spaces today but I’m guessing they will fill up quickly in the summer. The raised walkway is great, a safe wide path for the kids to run along with no fear of getting near cars, it also has beautiful views back towards St Peter Port and over the cliffs of St Martins.
Entry to the castle is through the little gift shop. Nick and I bought discovery passes for £18, giving us 12 months entry to Castle Cornet, Guernsey Museum at Candie, Fort Grey Shipwreck Museum and the German Naval Signals HQ and all children go free. Normal entry to the castle for adults is £10.50 so the Discovery Pass is great value for money if you plan to return within the year.
The castle is geared up for children, however, pushchairs are not allowed and need to be left at the shop. Back carriers can be borrowed from the shop but remember you will need to carry everything with you. Whilst buying tickets Tilly and Lottie were given a Children’s Guide to Castle Cornet, a find the picture sheet and we were told where the dressing up room is. The find the picture sheet contained the image of 8 characters to find around the castle. This was a big hit and motivated the girls throughout the visit to find everyone on the sheet, sparking lots of shrieks when they spotted a picture in a window.
We were given an informative map upon entry however, we ended up not following it, instead just taking any paths/ steps that we saw. The castle site is so much bigger than I appreciated with loads to see whether it was cannons, formal gardens, German defences (particular favourite for the girls was the small gun turret at the South Battery) and beautiful views.
There are 4 museums at Castle Cornet and I can’t believe we didn’t make it to any of them! We wanted to watch the firing of the noonday gun which is fired near to the café and toilets so we were mindful of the time ensuring we were by the gun by 11:50am. Before this, the girls were having such fun exploring all the different areas and looking for the images on the picture sheet. The girls were fascinated by the clock tower because the inner workings of the clock are on show plus a large bell.
At the base of the clock tower is a dressing up room, such a lovely addition for the kids. The room holds quite a few medieval costumes for both boys and girls to try on, and kids are allowed to wear the costumes around the castle and return them when they have finished.
We spent quite a while at the lawned area in the inner ward. The girls were making up stories and enjoyed sitting on the low stone walls. This would be a great spot for a picnic and there are benches dotted around the edge of the lawn.
The firing of the noonday gun was a real spectacle. We all watched intently as 2 keepers marched to the gun, had a look through the telescope for enemy ships then fired the gun, boom! It was so loud!! The keepers stayed around for photographs afterwards. They were such good sports as one of the keepers swapped his hat for Tilly’s cat ears!
There are Living History presentations from the Guernsey History in Action Company straight after the gun firing which last 20-30 mins, lovely ladies dressed in character were encouraging people to watch the show, we unfortunately couldn’t stay as we hadn’t brought food for the girls and everyone was getting hungry so we headed back to the exit which is through the shop. Thankfully we spotted the remaining 3 images from the picture sheet as we were leaving, I don’t think the girls would have wanted to leave without completing it!
All in all a great morning. We were at the castle for 2 hours and we didn’t really scratch the surface, there is so much more for us to go back and see. We thoroughly recommend visiting the castle whether you have a whole day to spare or just a few hours. Next time we’ll take a picnic so we can stay longer.
Address
Castle Cornet, Castle Emplacement, St Peter Port, Guernsey, GY1 1AU
Opening Times & Prices
Castle Cornet is open 10am-5pm daily (9:30am-5pm July and August) from March until 3rd November. Admission: Adults: £10.50, Children (7-18yrs) and Students: £3, Children under 7: free.
