Having written a review for Watermouth Castle, I thought I should add a bit about the accommodation that is available at the Castle. Mid way through last July we visited and stayed at Watermouth Castle in North Devon. The Castle is not only a theme park but also has six apartments as well.
Upon ... Read review
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Advantages: Unlimited Free access to the castle & grounds Disadvantages: Very small kitchen
Having written a review for Watermouth Castle, I thought I should add a bit about the accommodation that is available at the Castle. Mid way through last July we visited and stayed at Watermouth Castle in North Devon. The Castle is not only a theme park but also has six apartments as well.
Upon arriving at the Castle on the Saturday (as this is change over day) we were warmly welcomed by the owners of the apartments and castle, and ... ...it takes to get to Watermouth Lodges. This has a small shop in it which sells the basics like milk and bread. It also has a restaurant and bar. The food isn't spectacular but after all you do get what you pay for and this really isn't that expensive.
***** Local Information *****
The nearest large shop is a Somerfield about 3 miles in Ilfracombe, and Ilfracombe is also the nearest town, and has the nearest Hospital. ... more
Having written a review for Watermouth Castle, I thought I should add a bit about the accommodation that is available at the Castle. Mid way through last July we visited and stayed at Watermouth Castle in North Devon. The Castle is not only a theme park but also has six apartments as well.
Upon arriving at the Castle on the Saturday (as this is change over day) we were warmly welcomed by the owners of the apartments and castle, and were shown to our Penn-Curzon apartment which sleeps 6.
***** The Apartment ***** A you enter the foyer there are two staircases one going up to the left to a small balcony over looking the theme park and then leading to three apartments. The staircase to the right takes you up to another three apartments one being the Penn-Curzon. As you enter Penn-Curzon there is a place to the right to hang coat and things, and also a locked door, or least it should be locked. While we were staying there it wasn't locked, and being the inquisitive family that we are, we had to open it. We came face to face with a suit of armour! The door leads into the castle museum.
Moving up the small set of stairs in front of you and looking to the right there is onle very large double bedroom, which also houses a cot, and we also managed very easily to get my son's inflatable bed down in there to. There two bedside tables, one chest of drawers, one dressing tables and a walk in wardrobe. The décor of the room isn't too bad although not really my style.
Next to this room is the bathroom, containing a toilet, sink, small bath (I could only just lay in it and I'm 5ft 4) and a shower over the bath. The bathroom also houses a very effiecient airing cupboard and a heated towel rail. A word of caution the towel gets VERY hot and is located on the floor so if you have little do not let them in the bathroom while the towel rail is on. We only used the towel rail to dry swimming costumes and usually in the evening when the children were safely tucked up in bed.
Opposite the bathroom is a twin room. This room has two single four poster beds in it. It has a small wardrobe, two bedside tables and a chest of drawers. The décor in this room is a bit chintzy especially with the lacy, frills from the four poster beds. Leaving these rooms behind we move back the way we came and turn right. Just along this long corridor is the third bedroom. Again this is a twin room but doesn't have the four posters beds, it is basically the same layout as the other two rooms. A wardrobe, chest of drawer and a set of bedside tables. This room is quite a bland canvas, in fact it's totally white or possibly an off white. All the bedrooms also have a sink in them, which came in quite handy in the morning, so we weren't all diving for the bathroom at the same time.
Further along the corridor you enter the dining/living room with a small (I do mean small!) kitchen. The kitchen reminded my of a galley kitchen on a narrow boat. The kitchen is well stock with utensils and you can, if you really need to, cook in here; however I would not recommend it.
The dining/living room has an old style fire place which can be used if really cold, and there is a large fireguard surrounding it so little ones can't get too close. There is the usual TV and video setup for those who just want a quiet night in. There is plenty of seating in the room and a small coffee table. Towards the back of the room is a large dining table that can easily fit 8 people round it. There are also two side boards which contain table mats crockery and glasses. We used the empty space in one of these to store our breakfast cereals and board games. From this room there are some stunning, beautiful views of the countryside and ocean.
***** Facilities ***** In the foyer is several highchairs that you borrow and take back to you apartment at no extra charge. There is also a large chess board table inside the chess board you'll find in the chess pieces. In an evening my husband would take the table out onto the patio area and teach my oldest son and my brother (who is autistic) how to play chess. James my eldest son, really enjoyed learning this game, so much so that he is now asking for his own chess board. Also, in the foyer is a notice board that holds information about the surrounding area. Across from the notice is a table where you can order daily newspapers from. The local newsagent then delivers them every morning to the table where you collect them from. At the end of the week they leave your paper bill and you leave the money in a secured box for the newsagent to collect.
On the patio is three wooden garden tables and four wooden chairs surrounding each table. During the evening this area is a sun trap and a pleasant evening can be had having drinks. There is also a gas BBQ, which is free to use. We enjoyed several quiet evenings drinking and eating around the BBQ. The children enjoyed this to as they had free access to the castle's theme park area even after the park had closed. The rides aren't working during this time, but all the push button activities on the walk to the park work as do the buttons throughout the Gnomeland.
There is an indoor heated swimming pool that residents of the castle apartments can use. Most morning my mother and I took the children swimming before breakfast. This became so popular that the boys were always up by 7am locating their swimming costumes and dragging my mother and I out of bed. The swimming pool is open between 7am and 8pm everyday. Inside the indoor pool are several sun loungers located under the glass roofed area. As the pool is located just off the sun trap patio the indoor pool can get very hot during the day. There is also an air hockey game which you can play, instead of swimming if you so wish.
Just a little way down from the patio opposite the car parking places is a small room that holds a washing machine and tumble dryer. To operate these you'll need a supply of 50 pence pieces. I have to say that having two small boys who like to get messy, the washing machine and tumble dryer was a god send. Instead of going home with a suitcase full of washing to do, I happily went home in the knowledge that washing was already done.
As I have said previously I wouldn't recommend cooking an evening meal in the small kitchen. The gas BBQ was very helpful for evening meals. However, if you don't fancy cooking you'll need to locate a pub or restaurant to eat in. The closest for this would be a you're heading towards Coombe Martine there's a pub about a 1½ miles away on the left hand side. Alternatively, if you don't fancy driving you could always walk the two minutes it takes to get to Watermouth Lodges. This has a small shop in it which sells the basics like milk and bread. It also has a restaurant and bar. The food isn't spectacular but after all you do get what you pay for and this really isn't that expensive.
***** Local Information ***** The nearest large shop is a Somerfield about 3 miles in Ilfracombe, and Ilfracombe is also the nearest town, and has the nearest Hospital. For the nearest train station you'll need to travel 12 miles to Barnstaple, this also houses the nearest large supermarket being Tesco. For petrol you'll need to travel the 3 miles to Coombe Martin. In Coomber Martin you'll find the nearest beach and it is also full on little tourist shops for those prezzies you kids needs to take home for their friends!
***** Travel ***** Watermouth Castle is located on the A399 between Ilfracombe and Coombe Martin in North Devon. There is a bus stop directly outside the castle entrance and buses run from Ilfracombe and Coombe Martin quite regularly (or at least they did last year!)
***** Overall ***** My family and I thoroughly enjoyed the week we spent in the apartments last year. The best feature about these apartments was the free unlimited access to the castle and theme park you were entitled to as a resident. At a cost of £1055 a week during July, it's worth the money. However, when we go back this year in August we're going to be staying at Watermouth Lodges which is the same price for a week. The stay at these apartments was very relaxing and an enjoyable experience. If it didn't work out slightly cheaper to stay at Watermouth Lodges we'd definitely book to stay there again.
