The castle is famous for the “romance” between Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley. Elizabeth granted him the castle in 1563 and keen to impress, Dudley embarked on an ambitious refurbishment; including the Gatehouse, a hunting forest and an entire wing and gardens for her sole use. Dudley spared no expense for Elizabeth’s visit in 1575 with lavish pageants, hunts and fireworks over the mere. It’s possible people would have watched the festivities from this spot and it may also have been the landing spot for the barges and boats on the lake.
The castle was occupied by parliamentarians during the civil war and its defences broken in the aftermath, much of stone re-used elsewhere in Kenilworth.
Take the moat path, cross the road (carefully) turn right at the old houses at Castle Green and continue ahead.
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.
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