Langley Castle Lays Claim to Being No. 1 ‘English Castle Stay’ Experience

-       Castle comes out of lockdown determined to highlights truly unique facets

Langley Castle, located near Haydon Bridge, Northumberland is laying claim to being the ‘number 1 English castle hotel’, as it reopens its doors to guests after many months of closure and throws down the authenticity gauntlet, challenging other English castles to rival its architecture, ambience and rich historic storytelling.

To encourage staycationers to ‘do it right’ when ticking a castle stay off their bucket list in 2021, Langley is urging them to look for these key factors - elements that an independent survey has suggested that Langley has, with a third of interviewees having no qualms in stating they believe it looks “everything an English Castle should be.”

Langley Castle, built in 1350, has 671 years of history with which to thrill guests and is the envy of other castles in which staycationers could sojourn.  It is possibly the only truly authentic medieval fortified castle hotel in England and has many of its original features intact, because of its colourful past.

Its seven-foot walls, first erected in 1350, were not modified or ‘reimagined’ by later eras, all thanks to the wrath of King Henry IV, thought responsible for torching the wooden interior, in 1405, as a punishment.  

With no roof for nearly 500 years, the castle was unoccupied, thus preserving much of its original medieval architecture.  Figures like Thomas Cromwell were far more interested in the Langley barony’s lucrative lead mines, than in the castle.  When it was restored, restoration was handled lovingly, by a historian and antiquarian.  Langley Castle is his lasting legacy.

The castle walls, with their raised window seats accessed by stone steps, deliver the true lord and lady experience but are also home to the best example of medieval toilets in Europe.  Langley’s 12 garderobes show the danger the castle faced, on a daily basis, whether the threat was from the Kings of Scotland or the lawless Border Reivers.

The Langley Castle daily Battlements Tour, if allowed to operate, demonstrates just why this castle should be the number one on any staycationer’s ‘castle list’, highlighting features such as the stone structures that originally held the wooden floors, the spiral staircase that originally acted as the front door, the chute through which oil was poured on the enemy and the stone arches, which former knights and royal favourites walked through.

Langley’s executive general manager, Margaret Livingstone-Evans, says: “Langley  Castle is certainly more than just its super-comfy four-poster and period beds.   It is truly peerless as an English castle hotel, from an experience point of view alone.  As we emerge from lockdown, we need to shout about this and highlight our truly unique facets.

“When you add in our location, just a stone’s throw from the World Heritage Site of Hadrian’s Wall and a short drive from medieval Hexham, we have so many attractions right on our doorstep.  We even have a bench donated by the Northumbrian Jacobite Society, to mark our former owners, (and royal cousins to the Jacobite ‘Pretenders’) central part in two Jacobite uprisings, and have a chapel on our battlements, built with the specific permission of Pope Leo XIII.  Where else can you find such rich history?”

Guests can enjoy a bed, breakfast and Battlements Tour stay at Langley Castle from £179 per room in its Castle View accommodation in the grounds, or from £279 per room inside the castle itself, if they want to be steeped in medieval ambience and satisfy aspirations of grandeur.  More information is at www.langleycastle.co.uk                            

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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.