🌳 Historic 18th-century folly | 🍃 Overlooking the site of the Battle of Edgehill | 🛌 5 rooms, sleeping 2 – 5 | 🐶 Dog-friendly | 🥂 Ideal for romantic weekends | ❤️ From £125pn B&B | ⚡️Award-winning restaurant | 🍸 Gin distillery on top floor of the tower | 📍On the Oxfordshire/Warwickshire border
Why we love The Castle at Edgehill for a weekend
“Probably the most extraordinary country pub with rooms we’ve stayed in. This extravagant folly and mini castle is an ode to one of the most important moments in English history. Boasting its own ghost, its own gin distillery, a fabulous restaurant where you can eat like a king, super-comfy rooms and views over one of the most famous civil war battlefields in the country: it is a triumph.”
Famous as the site where Charles I once stood and watched the first major battle of the English Civil War in 1642, The Castle lies right on the crest of Edge Hill at the most northerly point of the Cotswolds on the Oxfordshire-Warwickshire border. From here, take in the most exceptional, far-reaching, views at this thriving community hub, destination pub, restaurant and wedding venue with five bedrooms and a gin school and distillery.
Housed within an extravagant folly designed and built in the 1740s by landscape designer, Sanderson Miller, to commemorate the centenary of the Battle, this miniature castle was converted into an Inn in 1822, with additions built during the 19th century. Rooms are located within its two castellated towers with a suspended wooden bridge to access the larger ‘Radway’ tower.
Behind The Castle’s spacious bar with flagstone floors and crackling fires in winter, an extensive and well-curated wine list, with regularly changing local and guest ales and ciders all served with a friendly welcome by well-trained and knowledgeable staff.
Head chef, Pawel Neuman, offers top notch seasonal, modern British dishes with imaginative touches alongside pub classics, all beautifully presented at lunch and dinner daily. An exceptional, traditional Afternoon Tea and hearty Sunday roasts are another huge draw, as is the chance to sample some of the very best fresh, local produce available. Pawel continuedly aims to source the Castle’s produce from within a 30-mile radius of the kitchen. Additional herbs are grown in the Castle’s own gardens, with the best picked daily. A children’s menu is also available alongside a lunchtime sandwich menu from Monday – Saturday. *Vegetarian and vegan options are always available.
Three light-filled dining spaces (70 covers), includes a new addition with full-height windows to make the most of the panoramic views. The other two dining spaces feature oak panelled, exposed stone or whitewashed walls, original timber floors, gothic-style mullioned windows, high ceilings with exposed joists and cast-iron chandeliers to highlight the quaint castle vibe, while leather chesterfields, scrubbed oak tables and comfy vintage chairs ensure relaxed, convivial spaces to drink and dine.
Outside, an exceptional, tree-lined pub garden with breath-taking views over the Warwickshire countryside (more specifically, the field below where the battle of Edge Hill took place) is the perfect spot for summer drinking and dining or a warm, mulled wine or hot apple toddy on a frosty evening.
The Rooms at The Castle at Edgehill
The Castle’s five, individually decorated, en-suite bedrooms, named after protagonists from the Battle of Edge Hill, offer incredible views from their turreted locations. The larger ‘Radway’ tower houses the Kings room (where we stayed) and the Prince Rupert, both overlooking the battlefield and feature cosy, comfortable four-poster beds.
The smaller tower houses two further double bedrooms, the Astley, with a double bed and a separate space with twin beds, while the largest room, the Cromwell Suite, covers the entire first floor and features a double bedroom with adjoining sitting room with sofa bed and room for two camp beds. The Verney is the cosiest room located on the ground floor with a wet room, disabled access and welcomes dogs for overnight stays for an additional £20 a night per dog.
During the week, a continental breakfast basket is delivered to each room, with a cooked breakfast menu available on Saturdays and Sundays. Doubles from around £125 a night on a B&B basis.
The Gin School
In 2022, The Castle teamed up with award-winning local distiller, Daniel Beckett, who runs Pinnock Distillery, to create the Castle Gin School.
Situated at the top of the Radway Tower, the octagonal tower (said to have been inspired by a tower at Warwick Castle), the Gin School hosts Saturday classes where you will take charge of a mini copper pot still to develop your very own gin recipe by choosing from their extensive range of citrus, herbal, floral and spice botanicals, or alternatively you can bring your own along.
At the very end of the session, you will then be able to bottle and label your own unique creation in a 70cl bottle. You can also join them for one of the shorter, informative taster sessions, where you can try the full range of spirits produced by Pinnock Distillery. Prices start from £18pp. In our view, this is a wonderful bolt-on experience to your stay: just take care navigating the spiral stairs of the tower on your way back to your room afterwards!
The Essentials
- The Castle at Edgehill is a dog-friendly, award-winning country pub with rooms
- The mini castle was built as a folly in the 18th century
- Owned by Freespirit Pubs, a local, independent hospitality group, took over The Castle 10 years ago and undertook a completely refurbishment of the building
- There are three main dining areas: the relaxed library, the dining room and the glasshouse boasting a panoramic view across Warwickshire and the famous battlefield of the Battle at Edgehill
- It sits on the famous escarpment where Charles I watch the Battle of Edgehill
- Rooms start at £125pn B&B; dogs are £20 a night each and you can bring a maximum 2 dogs
- The restaurant, headed up by Pawel Neuman, is open for breakfast, lunch and diner – trust us, the food is delicious!
- Surrounded by beautiful countryside, walks from the front door include a ramble around the honey-coloured stone village of Edgehill. There is also the Battlefields Trail and a good five mile walk (Walk 2125 on the Walking Britain website) taking in Radway, Ratley and Edgehill.
- A great base for exploring towns such as Banbury, Stratford-upon-Avon and Leamington Spa.
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