The Big Brick Build at Belsay Hall Castle and Gardens – review (AD)

8th April 2024 0 By Rachael Stray

We were kindly invited to attend the opening day of the Big Brick Build at Belsay Hall Castle and Gardens*.

The Big Brick Build sounded right up our street and we made a play date with Elsie’s best friend Ted to make the day out even more fun!

About the Big Brick Build at Belsay Hall Castle and Gardens

Get creative with the master builders and help bring history to life with LEGO® bricks.

Join in the fun as the create a sculpture of Belsay Hall in brick art form! Once you’ve worked your magic, our brick builders will piece your creations together to unveil a stunning statue of the hall and the quarry gardens.

This event is included in the standard entry price. English Heritage members get free entry.

Book online and save 15%.

Suitable for children aged 3 and over due to small parts.

Our overall thoughts about the Big Brick Build at Belsay Hall Castle and Gardens

From our home in County Durham it took about 45 minutes to drive to Belsay Hall Castle and Gardens.

There’s a large free car park with ample parking.

We arrived with time to spare for the 10am opening.

This was our first visit to Belsay Hall Castle and Gardens and we were excited to have a good look around.

Once it hit 10am we made our way to the entrance and were warmly welcomed.

We made our way straight through to the rooms where the Big Brick Build was taking place first.

The start of the impressive structure was already underway thanks to the master builders.

With the help of visitors the plan is to create a stunning sculpture of Belsay Hall in brick art form featuring the hall and quarry gardens.

Elsie decided to create a tree and with the help of Steve and the step-by-step instructions she really enjoyed making it largely by herself.

She was proud as punch to add it to the sculpture and added some finishing touches.

Shortly after Elsie’s play date her best friend Ted and his lovely family arrived and we spent more time in the next room which has lots of Lego to play with.

When the kids were finished playing with the Lego they decided they wanted to head to the play area.

We walked through the really impressive quarry gardens which sheltered us from the raging winds and made our way to the play area.

There’s a large play structure with slides for older children and next to the café is a smaller play area for younger children.

Elsie and Ted with Steve’s support raced up the rope bridge to the large twisty slide.

Once it hit 12pm with tummies rumbling we decided to check out the food at the café.

We were impressed with the options and the prices.

Elsie picked her five items from the children’s options for her takeaway bag.

I plumped for a bacon sandwich and can of pop and Steve had a sausage roll, bottle of water and some crisps. The total came to about £20 which was reasonable.

Service was quick and friendly.

There’s toilets behind the café and these are unisex self-contained, each with a baby changing table which is so family friendly and there’s plenty of room for you and little ones.

Post-lunch and another stretch on the play park, Steve treated the kids to an ice lolly each and at £2 a pop this was a fair price I thought.

Then we decided to explore the castle.

It was really impressive and there’s interactive parts too.

The fact you can climb up to the roof was an added bonus and the views were spectacular.

Just after 2pm we decided to head home with the skies turning darker and the wind whipping up.

We paid the toilets near the entrance a visit and these were also clean – but a block of toilets.

This was our first visit to Belsay Hall Castle and Gardens and we were really impressed – it’s a hidden gem in my opinion and perfect for a family day out.

We will definitely be back!

Where is Belsay Hall Castle and Gardens?

Belsay, Nearr Morpeth,

Northumberland,

NE20 0DX.

Follow the brown signs.

Sat Nav: NE20 0DU

Belsay Hall Castle and Gardens admission prices and opening hours

Open daily 10am-5pm.

Save at least 15% when you book in advance.

You can book online until 8.45am on the day of your visit. You can still buy a ticket when you arrive, but you won’t get the discount.

Your booking is only for entry to the site or event.

Tickets are valid all day, so you can arrive at any time and stay for as long as you like within our opening hours.

Tickets are free for English Heritage members. You can still book online if you’d like – just remember to bring your English Heritage membership card.

You can join as a member online or during your visit.

For full admission pricing details please visit the English Heritage website.

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*Disclaimer

This review has been written with 100% honesty.

I was not financially compensated for this post. I was given a family day pass for entry to Belsay Hall Castle and Gardens in exchange for an honest review. We purchased all food and drinks ourselves. The opinions expressed in this post are completely my own based on my own experience.

If you would like your company/service featured on rachaelstray.com either in the form of review, sponsored post or an advertising slot, please feel free to contact me at rachaelstray@gmail.com