sleeping in a castle!

B was very lucky recently to win a 2 night stay in a castle through his work, so after careful deliberation on my part (he wasn’t fussy where we went) I chose Peckforton Castle in Cheshire for our little break! It was definitely the right choice. Peckforton castle is apparently a Victorian country house which is built in the style of a castle, but I have to say it did not disappoint. It looks every inch a castle inside and out. It was built in the mid 1800’s for a wealthy landowner and MP and has a gothic style to it. In 1988 it became a hotel and seems to be very popular for hosting weddings. Given the fairytale atmosphere of the place, I can easily see why.

Our bedroom. It was very luxurious and clean and spacious. I felt like a guest on Downton Abbey. The last guests also clearly forgot to sign out of their Netflix account on the tv, so we ended up finishing Squid Game on some stranger’s account.

The view from our room!

Adding to the spooky aesthetic there were Jackdaws all over the place, which I rather enjoyed.

Surrounding the castle is a large forested area which is absolutely rammed full of Pheasants at this time of year, apparently. Honestly, you could barely turn your head without seeing a Pheasant scuttling away into the bushes. For such fancy looking birds they’re not even subtle.

We also saw Turkeys! I have never seen them wild before. It was a little unnerving how large they are.

The walking routes through the forest were lovely and we were lucky with the weather as well.

Spot the sneaky bunny!

We also saw a Jay for the first time! This is a cropped photo we got as it was super far away.

The view from a hill near the forest.

Another First for us was seeing this cute Nuthatch!

At one point we walked past a field with probably about 50 Pheasants chilling in it. Not an exaggeration. As we walked past more and more just seemed to appear out of nowhere!

And that’s everything. If anyone reading this ever happens to visit Cheshire, I can fully recommend a stay at Peckforton castle if you’re in the mood for a more extravagant night’s sleep! Or even a super fancy wedding.