Kenilworth Castle

Norman Keep to Elizabethan Pleasure Palace

Published 10th June 2015

Address: Kenilworth Castle, Kenilworth, Warwickshire, CV8 1NG

Category: Ruins

Access: Open to the public

Getting there

By Road

Kenilworth is about 25 miles south-east of Birmingham, 10 miles south-west of Coventry, and about 5 miles north of Warwick.

There are two possible routes from London: you can either take the M40, exit at Warwick onto the A46 north, then turn off onto the B4103, or take the M1 to J17, turn off onto the M45 which becomes the A45. The A5 takes you to the Coventry ring road, which you exit onto the A46. Travelling south, you then turn west onto the B4103, unsurprisingly named Castle Road.

Coming from the east side of Birmingham take the M42 southward, leave it to turn east onto the A45, then, shortly after, turn south onto the A452, turning off onto the B4103 just after Balsall Common. From the west side, follow the A45 until you reach the A452, then the B4013 as before.

From the M5, whether travelling south or north, exit onto the M42, then take the M40 towards the south, and exit at Warwick, as above.

From Stratford, follow the Warwick road, to join the A46, then proceed as though from London.

As Kenilworth is so close to Warwick, at a pinch, you could see both Kenilworth and Warwick Castles in a day, but we wouldn’t recommend that – there is so much to see at Warwick, it justifies a whole day.

Approaching from London, Coventry or Warwick, you drive through the town – the car-park is on your right, just after a sharp bend, over a bridge, so be prepared to brake and turn quickly. The car park is Council owned, and Pay & Display. Don’t forget to detach the refund part of the car-park ticket to collect your refund at the Castle entrance.

By Train

The nearest stations are Coventry, or Royal Leamington Spa, then take the bus.

By Bus

There are buses between Coventry, Warwick and Stratford (X16) stopping at Kenilworth. From Birmingham, either take the X20 to Stratford, and change to the X16, or the 900 to Coventry, and then the X16.The X15, X17, X18 or X77 buses run from Leamington via Kenilworth.

Chapter 1: Introduction

Kenilworth Castle played an important part in English history from Norman times until the Civil War. Owned by the Earls of Leicester, it came into the hands of John of Gaunt, who renovated it extensively. By the sixteenth century, the Norman Keep and Mediaeval Great Hall were old-fashioned and the Castle received a complete make-over from Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. It was here that one of the greatest pageants of the Elizabethan Age took place in 1575.

Location & Surroundings

This part of Warwickshire is a pretty, largely rural county, fairly flat, with open views across the Vale of Evesham. Warwickshire is in the heart of the Midlands. As well as Birmingham and Coventry, the industrial and commercial cities, there are the cultural delights of Leamington Spa and Stratford-upon-Avon not far away, and the Cotswolds only some 20 miles south of Kenilworth. Kenilworth itself is not especially inspiring – built of the local red sandstone there are individually attractive buildings, but the overall effect is pleasant rather than overwhelmingly pretty.