My entire family stayed in an English fairy tale castle for just £68

IF you thought taking your kids to stay in a fairytale castle from
days of yore would cost far more than a few farthings, think again.

My family were wowed by a wonder on the Welsh border that costs as little as £50 per night for an entire family.

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The Youth Hostel Association of England and Wales has a network of 150 hostels, some of them in historic buildings – and bringing your kids actually lowers the price.

We couldn’t believe it as we parked up outside YHA St Briavels Castle
in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire.

The evening sun dappled the imposing stone building and it was every bit as magical as we’d imagined.

Inside, the boys could barely contain their excitement as we
discovered rooms tucked into all the little nooks and crannies you’d
expect in a medieval castle.

A banqueting hall was ready to welcome 21st-century guests, while the old chapel was full of sofas and board games and was also the perfect spot to hook up to the Wifi.

We were handed the keys to our bedroom, which was in the gatehouse and slept six, with two bunkbeds and two singles.

Stepping inside was a little bit like arriving in the Gryffindor dormitories at Hogwarts – perfect for my little Harry Potter fan.

I didn’t want to tell my sons that the name of the room was Oubliette, which was a place where prisoners were locked up and forgotten in medieval times.

But the cat was out of the bag when a bartender at a neighbouring inn let slip that the castle was known as one of the most
haunted places in Britain because of its history as a prison and
stronghold.

If you’re into things that go bump in the night, this could be the perfect place for you.

Even so, we all enjoyed a quiet night’s sleep thanks to the shutters and curtains that kept the room dark just as day was breaking.

I even had to wake everyone up for breakfast the next morning, which has never been known before as we’re usually up at the crack of dawn.

At YHA, adding kids onto the booking brings the price down as there’s a five per cent discount if you have under 26s in your party.

Plus if you have YHA membership, which only costs £15 for the year, you get another 10 per cent off.

The discount also extends to breakfast and St Briavels is one of the hostels that offers a free kids meal for each adult meal bought.

So four of us ate a cooked breakfast for £17, with our littlest tucking into cereal, yoghurt, and fruit.

In total, our room with discounts cost about £68, with breakfast for two adults and two children an extra £17 on top.

There are still nights available this month where a room for five people with a double bed costs just £50 full price or £42.50 with the 15 per cent discount.

But the prices go up over the summer holidays before dropping again in the autumn.

Bedding is provided, but you need to bring your own towels.

The rooms aren’t ensuite and the shared showers and toilets are cleverly tucked into the castle’s smaller spaces, so they might be a little way from your room.

If you want to take your wannabe wizard to a place that’s got a magic
all of its own or if your trainee knight needs a night away, you’ll be
king of the castle if you head to St Briavels for the perfect budget
family break.

You can stay in another fairytale castle right next to Alton Towers.

And in Wales, there is a Rapunzel-style fairytale tower for just £40pp a night.

It even has a pink princess bedroom at the very top.

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