Langley Castle Launches Young Battlements Tour Guide Contest

Could your child be the next acclaimed tour guide?  Would they be just brilliant about bringing a truly unique experience to life, for both adults and people of their own age alike?  Do they need something to focus on for the summer holidays?

Thanks to a brand-new initiative from Northumberland castle hotel, Langley Castle, if you have answered ‘yes’ to any of these, your child might possibly become the first Young Battlements Tour Guide of the Year.

Langley Castle, and its owner, Dr Stuart Madnick, want kids to step into the shoes of the guides who conduct the daily Battlements Tour at the castle every morning at 10.15am for residents and non-residents alike.  Kids are being invited to emulate these guides by creating their own version of the tour, with as much spin as they want to put on it, to make it relevant to their age group.

They will have to channel information about the castle, whose seven-feet-thick walls have been standing since 1350.  They might focus on the turbulent times it has seen, or the best-preserved medieval garderobes that it boasts.  Maybe they will look at the Radcliffe brothers, former owners who both led Jacobite uprisings.  Or maybe the chapel on the Battlements, created with the permission of Pope Leo XIII.

Kids, or their parents, have to send in an application, explaining, in under 300 words, why they themselves, or their child, would love to be a tour guide and would make a great one.  They have to be under 11 on the finals day of Thursday October 30 and be available to travel to Langley Castle, if selected to be one of three finalists on that day.

Finalists will battle it off, to see who can deliver the most compelling 20-minute tour.  A trophy and a family overnight bed and breakfast stay will await the winner.  The two runners-up will receive a small trophy.

There are several weeks in which to swot up on Langley Castle and its history.  There is a podcast from one of the tour guides, available at https://bit.ly/4bEurFx and a ‘Hairy History’ children’s guide to the history of the castle, on the website.  They can also head to the castle and take the tour themselves, thinking how they would bring things to life, maybe in a different way, for kids of their own age.

Langley Castle general manager, Mohamed Serag, says, “We are hugely excited by our Young Battlements Tour Guide of the Year competition and will be interested to see where each finalist places their emphasis.  Will it be on the more gruesome links to St Bees Man, the more modern similarities between aspects of Langley Castle and Hogwarts, or something else?

“We will be seeing our tour through the eyes of children and cannot wait to witness their interpretation of the castle’s history, architecture and personalities.”

Get your initial application in before September 30, 2025 by emailing the 300-word application to jane@catapultpr.co.uk  Include your child’s age and school, plus your contact details and confirmation that, if chosen, you can attend the finals day on Thursday, October 30.  Be sure to give your email the subject of ‘Langley YBTG Contest’. The three finalists will be notified and announced by October 6.

More details of Langley Castle can be found at www.langleycastle.co.uk  Full contest terms and conditions are online at https://bit.ly/45ajkCA

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Editors notes

Langley Castle, built in 1350, is located in Langley-on-Tyne, Northumberland and is one of the few authentic, fortified medieval castles in England. It has a rich history, with strong links to Jacobite rebellions, is located just a stone's throw from the World Heritage Site of Hadrian's Wall and boasts features including battlements, seven-feet-thick walls, window seats set into the walls and the best example of medieval garderobes in Europe. It is one of the most exquisite wedding venues in the north and also offers a wide range of options when it comes to exclusive use, with the castle being available for weddings, family celebrations, Bar Mitzvahs and Bat Mitzvahs, D&D-style events and a wide variety of corporate functions.