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

Langley Castle, located in near Haydon Bridge in Northumberland is throwing down the authenticity gauntlet and challenging other English castles to try to rival its architecture, ambience and rich historic storytelling, as it lays claim to being the ‘number 1 English castle hotel’.

To encourage staycationers to ‘do it right’ when they are ticking a castle stay off their bucket list in 2021, by staying in a castle that is “everything an English Castle should be,” according to an independent survey, it is offering a per-room price from £179 for bed and full Northumbrian breakfast for two people, inclusive of a Battlements Tour.

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, of ‘Wolf Hall trilogy’ fame 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.

In the independent research survey by Gorkana, 33% of interviewees said an image of Langley Castle was “everything an English castle should be” and Langley 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.  

When you add in its location, just a stone’s throw from the World Heritage Site of Hadrian’s Wall and a short drive from medieval Hexham, it has so many attractions right on its doorstep.  It even has a bench donated by the Northumbrian Jacobite Society, to mark its former owners, (and royal cousins to the Jacobite ‘Pretenders’) central part in two Jacobite uprisings, and has a chapel on the battlements, built with the specific permission of Pope Leo XIII.

Langley Castle has it all, whatever your association with a castle, but also has the extra facets you would never expect to find in a castle hotel.  

Enjoy a bed, breakfast and Battlements Tour stay at Langley Castle from the £179 rate per room in its Castle View accommodation in the grounds, or from £279 per room inside the castle itself, if you want to be steeped in medieval ambience and satisfy your aspirations of grandeur.  

Book by calling 01434 688888 or visit 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.