Carew Castle sets the stage for a summer of quests, siege engines and family adventure
Families can look forward to a summer of treasure chests, gruesome tales from the past and the spectacle of a giant siege engine thundering into action at one of Pembrokeshire’s most striking medieval landmarks.
From Saturday 18 July to Monday 31 August, Carew Castle will host a packed holiday programme designed to bring its towers, passageways and grounds to life, with daily trails, medieval activities, open-air theatre, archaeology, living history and hands-on adventures for visitors to enjoy.
Adventure Days will bring the medieval mayhem from Sunday to Thursday each week between 19 July and 27 August. Young visitors can follow the free Proving Ground trail, sharpen their skills at Knight School, test their aim with Have-a-Go Archery, and discover just how noisy and exhilarating Castle life could be.
The daily programme on these days also includes Horrid Histories at 11am, bringing the Castle’s gorier stories to life for younger visitors, followed at 3pm by an interactive Find the Key! activity – both of which are included with normal Castle admission.
For those interested in medieval might on a much larger scale, Carew’s giant trebuchet will be hauled into action every Tuesday from 21 July to 25 August at 2.30pm, revealing how power, engineering and sheer nerve shaped the brutal business of attacking a castle.
As evening falls, the Castle grounds will become a stage for suspense, music and larger-than-life storytelling, with open-air performances of Sherlock Holmes and The Hound of the Baskervilles on Thursday 30 July and The Jungle Book on Tuesday 4 August. Advance booking is required.
The Castle’s real-life stories will also come into focus this summer. On Monday 3 August, Unearthing History: Pembrokeshire’s Past will bring local archaeology to Carew. Running from 10am to 4pm, the event will invite visitors to step behind the scenes, with experts on hand to reveal how small finds, buried evidence and fragments of everyday life can help unlock stories from centuries ago. There will also be talks, games and hands-on activities for children throughout the day, alongside Knight School and Have-a-Go Archery.
Over the August bank holiday weekend, Carew will be taken over by warriors, weapons and the sights and sounds of a 12th-century encampment. Across the three-day event, Historia Normannis will bring medieval life into the Castle grounds with combat displays, traditional skills and weaponry demonstrations, giving visitors a close-up look at how soldiers trained, fought and lived. Activities will run from 10am to 4pm each day, with Have-a-Go Archery also available.
Daisy Hughes, Manager of Carew Castle, said:
“Carew is a wonderful place for children to let their imaginations run ahead of them. It has that rare mix of space, mystery and surprise that turns a day out into something children keep talking about on the way home.
“We’ve shaped the summer programme so families can make the day their own, whether they come for a favourite event, stumble across something unexpected, or simply enjoy being somewhere that feels made for adventure.”
For full details of Carew Castle’s summer holiday programme, including event timings and booking information, visit www.carewcastle.com.
