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North East Castle Hotel Makes Edu-Staycations a 'Hairy History' Experience

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Read Time: 5 mins

The northern county of Northumberland has become the place to which to head, if you want Key Stage History brought to life for your kids this summer.

Langley Castle Hotel, located near Haydon Bridge in Northumberland (www.langleycastle.co.uk), has set the bar for what it is calling the ‘edu-staycation’ -  a new 2021 UK family experience, which enables children to learn whilst on holiday, catching up on time lost in the classroom during the pandemic.

 

The castle, located just a few miles from Hadrian’s Wall and from medieval Hexham, is not only promising children an amazing stay within walls that have experienced 671 years of history, but also delivering some Key Stage-relevant holiday history, in an engrossing and fun fashion.

 

The first thing it has done, to lay claim to the best edu-staycation experience, is to create its own vibrant and edgy ‘Hairy History’ guide, which interprets the castle’s dramatic and turbulent past, since 1350, in a humorous way and even features its reception-based knight ‘Gilbert’ on the front cover.  

 

The second thing is to then link this free resource to other history-focused activities, sure to deliver an important mix of family we-time and learning.

 

The downloadable ‘Hairy History’ book first walks families through local Roman history (the starting point for a castle whose walls were built with stones taken from Hadrian’s Wall) in a preliminary BL (Before Langley) section. 

 

It then homes in on parts of the castle’s history that are both incredibly dramatic and linked to topics covered in various Key Stages.  Langley’s history is rich with connections to the Gunpowder Plot and Jacobite Rebellions but also to Henry IV, Henry VIII, the Black Death, crime and punishment and the fearsome Border Reivers.

 

The  Langley Castle ‘Hairy History’ guide helps kids make sense of the buildings and land around them when they stay and brings it all to life in a cool way.  However, it is just the launchpad for the edu-staycation adventure.

 

Daily Battlement Tours, due to return soon, will be more vibrant than ever, for residents and non-residents alike (with a small charge for non-residents).  The tours interpret key features of the castle and include a video, further explaining Langley’s historical backdrop.

 

Local tour guides, Ancient Britain, will also offer Langley Castle guests some optional tours, to fill in more knowledge gaps.  The team are true walking encyclopaedias on Roman history, but equally great at creating bespoke tours based around Iron, Stone Age and Jacobite history. They can pick guests up from the castle’s doorstep for historical tours of varying duration, packed with memorability and insight and not only take families to key historic sites but also allow children to do everything from tasting Roman-style food, to handling weaponry.

 

Langley Castle’s desire to help children get back into learning and catch up with their historical studies is borne from its experience of seeing young guests transfixed by what they see around them when they walk inside the castle walls.  

 

“It is so much easier to engage children in history when they are already channelling their inner knight or princess,” says executive general manager, Margaret Livingstone-Evans.  “We felt that, if we could tap into our castle’s unique ambience, we could play our part in helping children re-engage with their history studies.  This is how our ‘Hairy History’ project was born.  

 

“We are not sure how many other hotels are offering guests this sort of edu-staycation experience but it would almost have been negligent not to use our amazing past as the basis of a history holiday.  If families then want to supplement our guide and our Battlements Tour with a tour booked with Ancient Britain, we are sure their kids will go home hooked on history.”

 

One option for a stay at Langley Castle is to book a room within the castle itself, where there are nine bedrooms within three different classifications – Feature Rooms for ultimate luxury and Deluxe Rooms, just slightly less luxurious.  Many have four-poster beds, window seats set into the seven-feet-thick walls and stone arches, juxtaposed with highly contemporary features, with some rooms having facilities such as a spa bath, sauna or walk-in dressing room with Hollywood-style light-up mirror.

 

The other option is to admire the castle architecture from outside and stay in a Castle View suite, room or lodge, very close by in the grounds. These contemporary rooms enable families to have relaxed, all-mod-cons-filled accommodation and still enjoy the opportunity to explore the castle, when visiting drawing room or dining room, for refreshments, breakfast or meals.  With the Battlements Tour option too, children can still enjoy all that the castle has to offer.

 

Either way, booking an edu-staycation trip to Langley Castle, at www.langleycastle.co.uk and downloading ‘Hairy History’, means families are sure to play history lesson catch-up in a truly unique way.

ENDS

 

Notes to Editors

 

Rooms in the castle can be booked from a price of £279 per room per night, for room, a huge Northumbrian breakfast and Battlements Tour (if allowed to operate), whilst bed and breakfast plus Battlements Tour pricing for a Castle View room is from £179 per room.

 

All rooms can be booked at www.langleycastle.co.uk or by calling 01434 688888.

 

Tours with Ancient Britain cost from £30 per person, with a 25% reduction for children and can be booked at www.ancientbritain.org or by calling 01434 688386 for details of other possible themed tours.

 

 

 

Ends

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.

Langley Castle Hotel launches the edu-staycation experience of summer 2021 - Hairy History

Langley Castle Hotel launches the edu-staycation experience of summer 2021 - Hairy History

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Langley Castle Hotel launches the edu-staycation experience of summer 2021 - Hairy History - with its own dramatic history crammer. Picture shows executive general manager, Margaret Livingstone-Evans...

Credit: www.langleycastle.co.uk

Langley Castle owner, Dr Stuart Madnick, an American professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, wishing UK kids a great edu-staycation at his castle hotel.

Langley Castle owner, Dr Stuart Madnick, an American professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, wishing UK kids a great edu-staycation at his castle hotel.

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Langley Castle owner, Dr Stuart Madnick, an American professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, wishing UK kids a great edu-staycation at his castle hotel.

Credit: Langley Castle (www.langleycastle.co.uk) Hairy History guide

Bonnie Prince Charlie referencing the demise of Charles Radcliffe in Langley Castle 'Hairy History' image

Bonnie Prince Charlie referencing the demise of Charles Radcliffe in Langley Castle 'Hairy History' image

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Bonnie Prince Charlie (Charles Edward Stuart) referencing the demise of former Langley Castle owner, Charles Radcliffe, in Langley Castle 'Hairy History' image. Charles Radcliffe is the last English...

Credit: www.langleycastle.co.uk - Hairy History

Gunpowder Plot plotters questioning where Francis Radcliffe has gone

Gunpowder Plot plotters questioning where Francis Radcliffe has gone

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Gunpowder Plot plotters questioning where Francis Radcliffe has gone, in an image from Langley Castle Hotel's edu-staycation publication, Hairy History.

Credit: Langley Castle (www.langleycastle.co.uk) Hairy History guide

Pope Leo XIII image from 'Hairy History'

Pope Leo XIII image from 'Hairy History'

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Image of Pope Leo XIII, who granted permission for the Langley Castle chapel, now on the Battlements of the Northumbrian hotel and mentioned in 'Hairy History', the hotel's very own edu-staycation gui...

Credit: www.langleycastle.co.uk - Hairy History

Image of James Radcliffe, Earl of Derwentwater, from Langley Castle Hotel's edu-staycation asset, Hairy History

Image of James Radcliffe, Earl of Derwentwater, from Langley Castle Hotel's edu-staycation asset, Hairy History

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Image of James Radcliffe, Earl of Derwentwater, from Langley Castle Hotel's edu-staycation asset, Hairy History. James, a former owner of Langley Castle and cousin to the Old Pretender, James Edward...

Credit: www.langleycastle.co.uk - Hairy History

Hairy History history crammer guide - an edu-staycation gem from Langley Castle Hotel, Northumberland, UK

Hairy History history crammer guide - an edu-staycation gem from Langley Castle Hotel, Northumberland, UK

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Image from the Hairy History publication - a history crammer produced by Langley Castle Hotel, near Haydon Bridge, Northumberland, to illuminate its unique history since 1350 and form the basis of an...

Credit: www.langleycastle.co.uk

Langley Castle Hotel, Northumberland, UK

Langley Castle Hotel, Northumberland, UK

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Langley Castle Hotel, Northumberland, UK, viewed from above.

Credit: www.langleycastle.co.uk

Langley Castle battlements viewed from above

Langley Castle battlements viewed from above

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Langley Castle battlements viewed from above, to which guests can be guided on a daily Battlements Tour, also open to non-residents.

Credit: www.langleycastle.co.uk

Window seat at Langley Castle Hotel, Northumberland, UK

Window seat at Langley Castle Hotel, Northumberland, UK

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Window seat at Langley Castle Hotel, Northumberland UK, set into the seven-feet thick walls. The climb is not as great in this bedroom, as it is to window seats in other parts of the castle.

Credit: www.langleycastle.co.uk

Drawing room at Langley Castle Hotel, Northumberland, UK

Drawing room at Langley Castle Hotel, Northumberland, UK

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Drawing room at Langley Castle Hotel, Northumberland, UK

Credit: www.langleycastle.co.uk

The exquisite drawing room at Langley Castle Hotel, Northumberland

The exquisite drawing room at Langley Castle Hotel, Northumberland

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The exquisite drawing room at Langley Castle Hotel, Northumberland

Credit: www.langleycastle.co.uk

Langley Castle Hotel, Northumberland, UK

Langley Castle Hotel, Northumberland, UK

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Langley Castle Hotel, Northumberland, UK, with the sun lighting up its 1350 walls.

Credit: www.langleycastle.co.uk

Medieval garderobes at Langley Castle Hotel, Northumberland

Medieval garderobes at Langley Castle Hotel, Northumberland

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Medieval garderobes at Langley Castle Hotel, Northumberland, UK, felt to be the best example of such early lavatories in the whole of Europe.

Credit: www.langleycastle.co.uk

Garderobe staircase at Langley Castle Hotel, Northumberland, UK,

Garderobe staircase at Langley Castle Hotel, Northumberland, UK,

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Garderobe staircase at Langley Castle Hotel, Northumberland, UK, one of the historic features that make this castle the number one castle hotel to stay in, if you are visiting or staycationing in Engl...

Credit: www.langleycastle.co.uk

Looking into the drawing room at Langley Castle Hotel

Looking into the drawing room at Langley Castle Hotel

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Looking into the drawing room at Langley Castle Hotel, Northumberland, UK

Credit: www.langleycastle.co.uk

Executive manager of Langley Castle Hotel, Margaret Livingstone-Evans and knight

Executive manager of Langley Castle Hotel, Margaret Livingstone-Evans and knight

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Executive manager of Langley Castle Hotel, Margaret Livingstone-Evans, calls for the earliest possible return of bed knights for Northumberland, posing with a knight outside the medieval fortified cas...

Credit: Diane Makepeace Photography/Langley Castle Hotel

Executive manager of Langley Castle Hotel, Margaret Livingstone-Evans and knight

Executive manager of Langley Castle Hotel, Margaret Livingstone-Evans and knight

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Executive manager of Langley Castle Hotel, Margaret Livingstone-Evans, calls for the earliest possible return of bed knights for Northumberland, posing with a knight outside the medieval fortified cas...

Credit: Diane Makepeace Photography/Langley Castle Hotel

Derwentwater Room at Langley Castle Hotel

Derwentwater Room at Langley Castle Hotel

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Derwentwater Room at Langley Castle Hotel

Credit: Langley. Castle

The Radcliffe Room at Langley Castle Hotel

The Radcliffe Room at Langley Castle Hotel

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The Radcliffe Room at medieval, fortified English castle hotel, Langley Castle, built in 1350 and located in Langley-on-Tyne, in the northern border county of Northumberland. The name is taken from t...

Credit: The Radcliffe Room at Langley Castle Hotel

The Josephine Restaurant at Langley Castle Hotel, Northumberland

The Josephine Restaurant at Langley Castle Hotel, Northumberland

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The romantic 2AA Rosette Josephine restaurant, at medieval Langley Castle Hotel in Langley-on-Tyne, Northumberland, named after one of the castle's former owners, Josephine d'Echarvines. Another pa...

Credit: Langley Castle, Northumberland, England

The Radcliffe room bathroom at Langley Hotel, Northumberland

The Radcliffe room bathroom at Langley Hotel, Northumberland

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The contemporary bathroom of the Radcliffe Room at medieval Langley Castle Hotel, which features a sunken spa bath and sauna. The room itself features a four-poster bed - a feature found in many of t...

Credit: Bathroom of the Radcliffe Room at Langley Castle Hotel, Northumberland

Langley Castle Hotel, Langley-on-Tyne, Northumberland

Langley Castle Hotel, Langley-on-Tyne, Northumberland

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Fortified, medieval Langley Castle, an exquisite castle, located in Langley-on-Tyne, Northumberland, England, between Carlisle and Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The English castle and wedding venue was built...

Credit: Langley Castle Hotel

The Greenwich Room at Langley Castle Hotel

The Greenwich Room at Langley Castle Hotel

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The Greenwich Room at medieval, fortified English castle hotel, Langley Castle, located in Northumberland, England, close to Hadrian's Wall and the ancient town of Hexham, halfway between Carlisle and...

Credit: Langley Castle