Did we want to stay in a castle? A big one? With more battlements, turrets and
drawbridges than you could lob a cannonball at? As my three-year-old son
Rory spends most days pretending he is Edmund in Narnia, while
six-year-old Holly thinks she’s a princess and that living in a terraced
house is all a hideous mistake, it was a done deal.
English Heritage has started renting renovated cottages in the grounds of six
of its properties in locations ranging from Northumberland to Cornwall. The
Sergeant Major’s House, sitting snugly within the walls of Dover Castle, was
our choice and we were the first people to stay in it.
With Rory in full knight’s regalia, sword at the ready, and Holly in something
pink and frilly, we swept up the drive to the castle gates and picked up the
keys. We were met by the housekeeper, who said there was just one rule:
after closing time we had to stick to the area around the cottage.
Not, it turned out, because of the nine ghosts in various states of distress
who are supposed to haunt the castle’s nooks and crannies, but because the
castle has its own microclimate, and the wind whipping round the battlements
could knock us off our feet.
Holiday cottages can be such a gamble. One man’s quaint is another’s rusty and
decrepit, and I’ve seen some stinkers, even when paying top dollar. Even
when you stay in a historic property owned by the venerable Landmark Trust
you have to make some sacrifices — not many have washing machines and none
has a television. But this was the business. A perfectly proportioned
Georgian house, decorated in muted period colours and furnished with the
best of modern English design, but sufficiently practical to ensure that
rampaging kids could have a good time without leaving a trail of
destruction.
::It was fantastically well equipped, from the bespoke oak kitchen to the
semi-basement kitted out with a huge flat-screen TV, wonderful selection of
board games and a full-size ping-pong table. Upstairs, the beds were made up
with crisp white duvets, the main bathroom was all square sinks, trendy
tiles and posh bubble bath, while the sitting room had stacks of new and
interesting books.
It felt like a smart boutique hotel. But the best bit was outside: from one
side of the house the view was of the keep, floodlit at night. On the other,
we could see over Dover and across the sea to France. It was a perfect
outlook and one I would have been happy to enjoy from the comfort of one of
the steamer chairs in the garden, had the microclimate been a bit kinder.
But who cares about biting winds and lashing rain when there’s a castle to
explore? And at Dover there’s an awful lot to discover. The 86-acre (35ha)
site is a microcosm of English history and remarkably well preserved —
partly no doubt, because apart from an annoyingly persistent French prince
who laid siege to the castle in 1216, no invading army ever breached the
ramparts.
We stormed the keep, rebuilt by Henry II in the 1180s to form part of the
first concentric medieval fortification in Western Europe. Now it houses an
exhibition about the visit by Henry VIII in 1539, which is a bit over the
heads of small children, but what did fascinate my two was ye olde Tudor
lavatory, a plank of wood with a hole in it over a deep shaft which still
seemed to have an unmistakable aroma. “Good job I’ve got a blocked nose,”
said Holly.
We investigated the Secret Wartime Tunnels. Within Dover’s white cliffs lies a
network of tunnels that have been in use since the Napoleonic Wars. It was
from here that the near-miraculous evacuation of British and French troops
from Dunkirk was directed in May 1940. The tunnels served as a command
centre and hospital for the rest of the Second World War. The tour is great
— lots of bloody bandages, authentic smells and stirring tales of bravery
and sacrifice.
We also explored the Saxon church, the Roman lighthouse and the excellent
regimental museum, and Holly and Rory had plenty of time for climbing on
cannons, rolling down hills and looking for the headless drummer boy, their
favourite ghost. Because we were staying on site we didn’t have to try to
cram it all in and never suffered from heritage fatigue. The castle came to
feel like ours and the only annoyance was those pesky day-trippers. Next
time we’re taking the boiling oil.
Page 2: How to book and more Top Turrets to rent
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Need to know
The Sergeant Major’s House at Dover Castle sleeps six plus a baby and costs
£755 for a week in May.
MORE TOP TURRETS TO RENT
English Heritage also has the following four properties for hire and 11 more
are expected to be open by the end of the year at sites including Battle
Abbey, Carisbrooke Castle and Walmer Castle. Prices are for a week in May.
Short breaks are also available.
Osborne House, Isle of Wight: The old cricket pavilion, built
in the early 1900s, has been turned into a cottage sleeping four. Its long,
south-facing veranda would be the ideal place to relax on a summer evening.
£635.
St Mawes Castle, Cornwall: Fort House, sleeping four plus a
baby, stands in a lane just above the castle, the best preserved of Henry
VIII’s coastal fortresses. £635.
Pendennis Castle, Cornwall: The Custodian’s House sleeps two
plus baby and is within the rampart walls of the castle. £535.
Rievaulx Abbey, North Yorkshire: Abbey Cottage, sleeping four
plus baby, is close to one of the most atmospheric ruined abbeys of the
North. £635.
Reservations: 0870 3331187, www.english-heritage.org.uk/holiday
cottages.
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