Four-star Northumberland hotel, Langley Castle, is targeting UK and international tourists who want to tick off a truly special experience from their bucket list, having been inspired by a guest who did just that, when staying at what is regarded as England’s most authentic, fortified, medieval castle hotel.
Having heard of the story of this visitor from St Helens, who had received a poor health diagnosis, the team at our Langley-on-Tyne-based castle hotel wondered how many other people might want to stay in a real castle and have not done so, or sleep in a four-poster bed, or see their children play a ‘real’ prince or princess. We commissioned a special survey through Censuswide, to find the answers, and have now produced a booklet – ‘Don’t Regret The Things You Haven’t Done’ – encouraging others not to miss out on special experiences that create brilliant moments in time.
This is now downloadable at the Langley Castle website and highlights how the castle can help thousands of Brits achieve their dream of staying or marrying in a real castle (with original features dating back to 1350), or experiencing something extraordinary, such as stargazing, or seeing a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the form of Hadrian’s Wall.
In this way, it hopes to not just boost visits to Langley-on-Tyne but also to wider Northumberland, with some questions relating to the destination of Northumberland itself.
Langley Castle’s manager, Margaret Livingstone-Evans, says: “We often think of bucket lists involving overseas experiences, such as swimming with dolphins and seeing the Taj Mahal. All too often, we overlook the amazing things here on home soil. Having been inspired by the guest who put Langley Castle on his bucket list, we are trying to make sure that some of these very British experiences are not overlooked.
“As a castle hotel, we are brilliantly positioned to fulfil many of the dreams relating to castle stays, dark sky experiences and fairy-tale weddings, so are not going to hide our light under a bushel. This new booklet fully explores how we can add value to anyone’s bucket list and help them create phenomenal memories.”
With nearly a quarter of Brits saying they would want to put a stay in an authentic medieval hotel on their bucket list, there’s every opportunity for Langley Castle to entice visitors from across the country and contribute to the county’s visitor economy. In some parts of the country the figure is even higher, reaching one-third of interviewees.
“Langley Castle’s four-poster beds will be plumped up in readiness for the 36% of women who have never been treated to a fairy-tale slumber in one. Equally, our child-friendly experiences will be fully promoted, now we know that one-third of children have never been able to play prince or princess in a castle hotel,” says Margaret.
“We have so much to offer, whether that is a Starry Knight stay, a chance for avid Jacobites to find out more about our deep links to the Stuart monarchy, or a chance for history buffs to see the best example of medieval garderobes in Europe, on one of our daily Battlements Tours. It’s time to start shouting out to all those bucket list compilers out there and making sure they know where to find us.”
Details of Langley Castle’s exceptional authenticity, its history tours, wedding experiences and stays, whether standard or based around stargazing experiences, can be found at www.langleycastle.co.uk If you need help in adding little touches to any of these, just call the team on 01434 688888, so the bucket list experience that you arrange can be a super-special and bespoke one.