I'm looking for information on Thornbury Castle

My husband and I will be staying here two nights after our cruise. I was wondering if any CC'ers have stayed here. We will not have a car during our stay, so I'm wondering what is in walking distance? It seems that dinner is a rather special event at the castle and assume we would need to "dress for dinner" ie. jeans would not be appropriate. Is this correct? We are looking for a couple of relaxing days following a busy cruise, so we will be happy to wander the castle grounds but don't want to miss out on any must see or do things in the area. We would be willing to rent a car if there is something we must see for a day. What are your suggestions?

Oh my, this brings back wonderful memories from 21 years ago when my husband and I stayed there as part of our honeymoon. We took the QE2 over , rented a car for a week or so to drive around a few romantic places in the south of England before heading to Paris for w week and taking the Concorde back home. Thornbury was a highlight. We did have a nice dinner and yes, we did dress for dinner. But of course things were not as casual as now. I suspect you could wear jeans but why not dress nicer as you will likely already have something other than jeans in your suitcase from your cruise. As I recall the village of Thornbury was small but charming. But since we had a car we were not limited to the immediate area around the castle. You might want to see if the staff at the castle can arrange transportation if you want to go further than the village.

You can wander around the small town of Thornbury but other than that there isn't really anything else in the area within walking distance. I suggest you take a bus into Bristol, which isn't much more than 10 miles away. There's plenty to see there; the harbour, Brunel's ship SS Great Britain, the Clifton Suspension Bridge etc. As regards Thornbury Castle itself, while I haven't been inside, it does describe itself as a luxury hotel and lots of people have their weddings there. I certainly wouldn't dine there in jeans.

Thank you both for your thoughts. I will look into the bus to Bristol for a day. I assume our Travel Oyster card will not work for this trip (stupid question?) I was asking about dressing for dinner because I saw a video and all of the men were wearing tuxes. I was hoping that my DH would be good in a dark suit. I have had a dress picked out that I bought when we were in London last August.

Thank you both for your thoughts. I will look into the bus to Bristol for a day. I assume our Travel Oyster card will not work for this trip (stupid question?) I was asking about dressing for dinner because I saw a video and all of the men were wearing tuxes. I was hoping that my DH would be good in a dark suit. I have had a dress picked out that I bought when we were in London last August.

I expect that was a video of some formal dinner. It is pretty rare these days for anyone to wear a tux to a restaurant, however posh. A suit will be fine and in any case, I am sure that no one will notice your DH anyway, with you in your new dress:)

I assume our Travel Oyster card will not work for this trip ...

As Globaliser says, you can't use your Oystercard. I'm sure a dark suit would be fine for your husband or even a dark blazer with collar and tie.

A dark suit and my new dress it shall be :) Thank you very much. I'm looking into the bus info for a little day trip.

My wife and I will be staying there for three nights June 21-24, 2015, following our cruise. Looks nice; we are excited. Plan to take train from London to Bristol and rent a car for a few days.

WOW! never thought I'd be reading a question about Thornbury Castle! The name fills me with wonderful memories of our first trip to England in 1993! I wanted to stay in a castle and more than got my wish with Thornbury - it was a lovely place and dinner an experience! I'm SO happy to hear its still open 22 years later!!

Since we were on a driving trip, Thornbury was our stop between Bath and the Cotswolds - just checked my scrap book! I remember we arrived mid-afternoon and spent some time just roaming around the castle grounds.

Dinner was a very special experience - can't remember what we wore but DH wasn't in a tux!!! I do remember dinner didn't begin in the dining room but a "parlor" where we had cocktails, looked over the menu and ordered. When dinner was ready we were shown into the DR - a true "dining experience"! In the past 22 years we have been fortunate to travel to some amazing places and we conside Thornbury to be up there with the best experiences we've had!

Please come back and tell us about your expereince at Thornbury!!!

WOW! never thought I'd be reading a question about Thornbury Castle! The name fills me with wonderful memories of our first trip to England in 1993! I wanted to stay in a castle and more than got my wish with Thornbury - it was a lovely place and dinner an experience! I'm SO happy to hear its still open 22 years later!!

 

Since we were on a driving trip, Thornbury was our stop between Bath and the Cotswolds - just checked my scrap book! I remember we arrived mid-afternoon and spent some time just roaming around the castle grounds.

 

Dinner was a very special experience - can't remember what we wore but DH wasn't in a tux!!! I do remember dinner didn't begin in the dining room but a "parlor" where we had cocktails, looked over the menu and ordered. When dinner was ready we were shown into the DR - a true "dining experience"! In the past 22 years we have been fortunate to travel to some amazing places and we conside Thornbury to be up there with the best experiences we've had!

 

Please come back and tell us about your expereince at Thornbury!!!

Peg, thank you so much for sharing your memories. We are both very excited about our visit to Thornbury. Dinner sounds like a lovely experience. I promise to come back and share.