Bagot's Castle Experience

Bagot's Castle sits in a 19 acre site with spectacular views across the Warwckshire countryside.

Within the site, the castle ruin sits in a slight dip with a steep slope down to the River Sowe on its north.side. It dates back to the 14th Century, although a house was thought to exist on the site back to the 11th Century. More historic details are available here.

Between the castle and the Church (where Sir William and Lady Bagot are buried) was a medieval village. Little remains of the village, but previous excavations prove its existence.

Scroll down to see the other attractions and children's activities available throughout the site.

Click here to download a layout of the site.

The Education Visitor Centre provides the opportunity to see some of the many artefacts recovered from the castle and the surrounding grounds during excavations in the 1930's. Finds such as tiles from the castle floor, plates and cutlery. Also on display are finds from the remains of a Saxon age village that lies buried between the Centre and the Castle. The Education Visitor Centre also has many photographs and drawings of the castle during excavation and the recent consolidation of the castle.

Entry tickets to the castle, along with brochures, books of the castle history and other momentos of your visit can be purchased from the Centre.

The Bagots Castle team extend their grateful thanks to Mike de Courcey Travel Ltd. for its sponsorship of the contruction of the Education Visitor Centre.

To the west of the castle lies the ruined remains of a 19th Century summerhouse. It was built by the Bromley family who owned the land on which the castle is situated. A project to partially re-construct the summerhouse is under way - donations to help fund this work would be welcome.

Between the Summerhouse and castle lies a flat grass field that was built by the Bromleys and was probably laid out as tennis courts, croque lawn, putting lawn or something similar. You can now enjoy a picnic on this lawn during your visit to the castle.

Walk along the woodland paths that meander across the site and observe the local wildlife in its natural habitat.

The paths include a walk along the banks of the River Sowe and a Wildlife Walk through the woods. There are benches around the site to sit and quietly take in the scenery.

During late April and early May the banks leading down from the castle to the river are carpeted by an extensive display of bluebells and paths take the visitor right through this display.

Another path from the Education Visitor Centre takes the visitor to two ornamental ponds. Little is known about the ponds before the 19th Century, although they may have been used by residents of the Saxon Village that lies buried underneath the visitor path from the Education Visitor Centre to the Castle.

The Saxon village has not been excavated, but a small number of artefacts have been found. Some of these can be seen in the Education Visitor Centre, and the area where the village lies buried can be seen by castle visitors.

In the 1930s and extending through World War II, armoured tanks were assembled in a factory close to the castle site, and part of the castle grounds was used for testing tanks. The test area includes earth humps, ditches and a water splash.These features are still visible and are included in the castle entrance fee. The testing area can be reached by signed path from the castle.

Little is known of the history of the tank testing area, and we would welcome any information that any visitors to the castle may be able to give us. Reminiscences of former Alvis employees who may have personal experience of testing would be particularly welcome.

See us at the castle or contact us.

The Castle experience includes a flock of Bagot goats.

The Bagot goat is a rare breed, named after the Bagot family and is known to have existed continuously since the time of Sir William Bagot in the late 1300s.

We are fortunate to have these animals, which were born at the Cotswold Farm Park (Adam's Farm as featured on BBC Countryfile).

The goats are inquisitve and friendly, allowing visitors to see them at close quarters.

We have a children's trail at the castle - one for younger children and one for older children - set in 19 acres of pastureland.

This is an excellent way for children to learn about the history of the site and they will enjoy finding the cards with clues.

At the end of the trail they are rewarded with a small prize.

Normal entry fee applies but the cost of the trail is £1 per child.

If you would like to bring a group of children along please contact us to arrange an appointment during the week