After visiting Fen Farm Dairy we headed into Bungay to visit the castle. As it was a Sunday we found a free parking space in the town near the butter cross. There are several car parks around Bungay where you can park for up to 2hrs for free.
Bigod Castle is situated in the centre of Bungay and can be accessed via several points around the town, it is well sign-posted, accessible with a buggy and free to visit.
The castle has a walk way over where once was the moat, impressive turrets and some exciting nooks and crannies to explore. The children had a fabulous time, running around the enclosed grassed areas, up steps to lookout points and into and around the main castle keep. Although not a large castle the ruins provided plenty of interest for a good hour and four very tired little legs!
It’s a really fantastic castle and from talking to the Chair of the Castle Trust, who was there working on the castle while we were looking round, they are just about to embark on a huge renovation project. There is even a ‘siege gallery’ (one of the only remaining in the country) situated under the castle which we saw through an iron gate and which is planned to be opened up in the next 18 months.
After walking through the town we saw that the old King’s Head Hotel has also been bought by the trust to renovate as part of the heritage project. The building currently has lots of large interesting historical images related to the castle on the front windows.
Bigold Castle is absolutely somewhere to visit (at the moment) on a fine day, as there is no shelter should the weather not be as kind as it was to us today. It’s also worth noting there are no public toilets at the castle; I believe the nearest are in Priory Lane (where there is also a car park) but do not have baby changing facilities. However, that said, it really is a hidden gem and a great place to let little ones go and enjoy watching their imaginations run wild. The castle is surrounded by a grassed area and has a grass common in front of it which I can imagine would work perfectly for picnics on warmer days.
The renovation certainly sounds like a very exciting project and something we will hopefully see develop on our next visit to Bigod Castle.
Thrifty Norfolk Mummy 