Today a romantic ruin, the castle has a long and intriguingly royal history. Built in 1120 by Geoffrey de Clinton it became a royal possession and hosted luminaries like; King John, Simon de Montfort John of Gaunt, Henry V and Elizabeth I. Several owners enlarged and fortified the Castle and also flooded the land in front of you to create the mere and further enhance the formidable defences. Later additions included the “pleasance” – a banqueting retreat across the mere and an 800 acre hunting forest. The castle in all its splendour was immortalised by Sir Walter Scott in his novel “Kenilworth”.
Take the lower path behind the ticket office and follow the path around the Castle walls.
These trails follow the same route as the leaflets but provide more detailed and deeper information at each point of interest (and we will keep adding more as we go!).
Please note – these trails are developed and optimised for a mobile experience so may not work effectively on bigger screen sizes.
Important – Using these trails and clicking their links will require mobile data (no more than accessing web pages), please ensure you are aware of your data limits and costs before using them.
Each point contains everything you need to locate it, as well as links to mapping services for its location.
At each point you will find further information pages and links to help interpret where you are and what you are looking at.
If you spot a mistake or encounter a problem please let us know by providing your feedback on the dedicated form linked below.
Report an issueTrail Content © - Kenilworth Town Council and Partners