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A ‘scary’ visit to Mont Orgueil Castle, Gorey Jersey

I do like a castle when we’re visiting places, and there were a few on Jersey to visit. I wanted to head out to the east coast to Gorey. The perfect opportunity to make the most of our bus passes, to see the coast, and explore the coastal town. Add Mont Orgueil castle in, and I was envisaging a lovely morning out.

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Gorey is a pretty seaside town. The bus pulls right into the centre where flower displays abound, restaurants and cafes are around the ‘square’ and the castle sits looking down over the town.

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We decided that there probably wasn’t much else other than the castle to see, so headed towards it. We did discover the rocky bay and a walkway out where people were swimming. N enjoyed walking along it, and it was like being on the edge of the world. A beautiful feeling.

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The castle was a reached via steep steps, with a friendly welcome in the shop/reception. Given N’s staying power, I decided against the tour, but there was still plenty to discover on our own.

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We started off with a short video and some interesting helmets and weaponry before heading up around the castle walls. There are a lot of steps involved, so not great for really young children or those unable to cope with steps.

First stop was the tower with the children’s costumes in. Several other children were roaming the castle wearing the fancy dress outfits. Of course N didn’t want to join in. It was then that he announced he was scared of castles.

This flummoxed me a bit because he’s never been scared of them before. But it seemed that walking through the walls, coming face to face with a life size statue of a knight on his horse had put him off. He was dragging me away from the brilliant statue and he wouldn’t walk past it even with me in between. He’s never been a child to be scared of things (apart from disliking model people at tourist places – but I’d thought he’d got over those a while before).

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I suggested the play area which overlooked the sea. It was a fairly small play area, but all wooden. But I couldn’t get N to step inside because in addition to the climbing frame there were workmen carved out of wood. I despaired!

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Once I managed to get him to come with me through some of the rest of the castle, he was quite happy looking at and asking questions about the gory giant soldier who showed the kinds of injuries that soldiers in battle would have received.

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Exploring the rest of the castle was a harder job. Most of the castle is a shell, with the rooms still intact, but empty. It’s interesting to read about the people who lived there, and the different rooms purposes though. But N wasn’t happy and I could see it wasn’t going to be a leisurely look around.

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After a while I gave up, and offered an ice cream. It was again a gloriously hot day, so ice creams were essential.

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Once back down from the castle steps, we had a short wait until the next bus arrived. Then it was back for a relaxing swim at the hotel.

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Do your children go through phases where they all of a sudden are scared of something? How did you get them over it?

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26 Comments

  1. Looks like a fascinating place to explore but what a shame that N was a bit scared – that wooden figure does look quite creepy though and I can imagine that coming across the knight on horseback might have been a bit unnerving. Jessica goes through phases where she’s easily frightened by things like this too. I love the photo with the tree sculpture with all the heads on it – looks a bit sinister but interesting too. #countrykids

  2. Gorgeous, I have never been to Jersey before. I can see where N is coming from though. That horse and rider are really spooky – almost ghost-like, and some of the other figures look very strange, I think I’d have got a chill! #CountryKids

  3. What a great place to visit. Looks a lovely dry day too, just what you need in Autumn. Lovely pictures, I love to walk around Castles with the kids 🙂 #countrykids

  4. Stunning photos. It looks like a really beautiful place.

    Mine went through phases of suddenly being afraid. All I did was reassure them until they grew out of it and moved onto the next scary thing!!)

    #countrykids

  5. A curious name of a place but looks a nice place to explore; we’d been mulling over Jersey as a slightly more exotic version of a staycation. You’ve some lovely photos there too. #countrykids

    1. Thanks Dan. Jersey is definitely somewhere I’d recommend. It was a spontaneous destination decision, and for an easy relaxing break with only an hour flight, it’s great with kids. Hotels aren’t the cheapest though.

  6. I hope manages to get over his fear too. It’s a shame because this looks like a fantastic castle to explore with stunning sea views. I’ve been to Jersey before but we didn’t go to Mont Orgueil Castle though. I think we would go if we returned though. #countrykids

  7. Hi Emma, Wow N has grown so much since I last visited the blog. He looks a full size pre-schooler te me now! Your pictures of the castle are really lovely.
    C. Also went through scared fases; when just moving back from London to Belgium (age 3) she was suddenly scared of going on any slide (at 10 months she’d go down them on her tummy face down) and refused the swing, it might have been her sadness taking over. With the new partner she got over that and is more joyful overal. However being 5 now she is refusing to even attempt cycling without sidewheels… No clue how to solve that! #countrykids

    1. Lol, You’re a few years out, he’ll be 6 in January!

      They are strange with their quirks, but they do get over it.

      Bikes – I recommend taking off the pedals and making it into a balance bike if she’s not used of those. Alternatively, someone I know tried the ‘stabiliser fairy’ where the training wheels had to go off to help others younger children. N loved his bike and we went straight from balance bike to pedal bike. But it does take a lot of leg strength so maybe lots of scooting will help build the legs up for pedalling?

      1. Oh boy, sorry Emma, I meant he looked like a primary school kid. I think my English terms need brushing up…. I am using the wrong wording, but definetely did me he looked six 🙂

  8. I’m sorry he was scared by it – we went many years ago when the kids were small and loved it! It doesn’t seem to have changed much – that can only be a good thing I think. #countrykids

  9. That looks like a fun castle, I like that they seem (I may be wrong) to have blended old and new together well, to make things more than just a “look at our old castle” type of affair.

    #CountryKids

  10. Great photos the castle looks incredible but yes, a little gory haha. The big statue with the weapons is a bit freaky for the little ones. The statues of people tied up too. But I guess that is a reflection of what went on in castles.

    Coming over from #CountryKids!

  11. What a wonderful place to explore, castles really do bring to life fairy tales don’t they? It’s surprising what can scare a child sometimes isn’t it? I hope N gets past his fear soon. At least you managed to cheer him up with an ice cream before heading back to the hotel.

    Thanks for linking up with me on #CountryKids.

  12. Love Jersey. Great to see your photos. I can’t remember my children flinching at a place, although they have never liked dressed up characters that want to hug them, but neither do I! Let’s hope it passes. At least he enjoyed the sea front and ice cream. #CountryKids

  13. I’ve never been to Jersey before – it’s on the bucket list! And that walkway and the walls make it look so picturesque. So sorry to read that he became scared when in the castle – it looks like a great place to explore #CountryKids

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