Herstmonceux Castle puts on a fantastic Medieval Festival

For a truly magical medieval experience, then look no further than East Sussex's Medieval Festival at Herstmonceux Castle.  An experience the whole family will love.

We visited the 2019 Medieval Festival on the August Bank Holiday, and with the weather on our side it really was a brilliant day, I can see why people camp at this Festival, as we struggled to get everything seen in one day!

The day started at 10am and with events running right up until they closed at 6pm, there was little time to get around all the stalls, speak with the medieval folk and take part in the many many activities, let alone stop for a drink of mead!

We bought a programme for £4 at the start of the morning and I'm so glad we did!  There was a schedule in the middle which detailed all the events taking place in the various locations around the grounds, and thanks to that programme, we were able to mark out our day to get the most out of the experience.

The Grade Parade started at 10.40, which gave some time to check out the trade stalls, food courts, taverns, craft marquee and Living History Demonstration.

We then witnessed the Seige of the Castle, a magnificent re-enactment showing the bloody struggles of the Houses of York and Lancaster.  Complete with showers of arrows from squads of supporting bowmen and cannon fire from ancient artillery pieces, these clashes put us right in the heart of the action.

The show really did set us up for the day.  It really puts you in the medieval mood and eager to meet with the knights and traders.

There was a second part to the battle which took place in the afternoon, all other performances were on hold whilst these two events occurred so there was no chance of missing other events.

There was so much to see such as the Birds of Prey Show, Drum School, Perkelt, Fire Show, and Queens's Players just to name a few!  Along with various areas of the grounds such as Kid's Kindom, Theatre in the Mud, Royal Arena, Knights Training Ground plus more!

To get the full experience of the Medieval Festival, you really would benefit from a weekend camping pass, as not only would you have more time to experience the performances, the traders and the marketplace, but you would also be privy to the evening entertainment each night, and with the cars tucked away in the car park and a short walk back to the tents, a night of music, entertaining and mead would be a great way to end the day.