Hillsborough Castle Review – Days Out Diaries

We got a beautiful crisp, autumnal day to visit Hillsborough Castle Gardens. My two children were very excited about visiting a residence owned by royalty and weren’t too disappointed when they learned they wouldn’t actually get to meet any royalty.

The photo opportunities started before we even got inside, posing in the guards station. Sure it would be rude not to! There was no queue to get in and exchanging our voucher was very quick and easy. There was an opportunity to pay extra to gain entrance to the Castle but we didn’t as it was such a nice day and we wanted to use our time exploring the gardens, which are more interesting for the little folk.

A quick toilet stop (which were spotlessly clean) and off we went to explore the grounds. The Gardens were much bigger than we anticipated, though an easy walk. We let the kids use the map to navigate us round the various areas, which they enjoyed. There was so much space for them to run about and we played a game or two of hide and seek. There were still a few Halloween decorations up and the children enjoyed finding these and the Ravens dotted about the grounds. We also liked guessing the herbs in the herb garden and learning about the ice house.

This would be a lovely spot for a family picnic in warmer weather. There’s a nice lake where children can feed ducks and swans. We very much enjoyed our autumnal walk exploring the very different types of areas and the colours were truly beautiful. We followed up our walk with a well earned stop at the coffee shop. We had hot drinks and tray bakes but you can purchase food too if required. Everything looked delicious though it is a bit pricey for families. There’s also a small gift shop attached to the coffee shop where we had a quick wander before heading home. All in all a lovely Sunday afternoon out.

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