Romantic Kenilworth Warwickshire
Lots of people don’t discover Warwickshire and all it offers because they are so busy cramming into Stratford they neglect the rest of the County which is a huge shame. Kenilworth is one of those lovely romantic little towns in Warwickshire that has a fascinating history at Kenilworth Castle, gourmet dining, beautiful boutique shops and some incredibly romantic hotels to stay at.
There are some amazing country walks and pubs in the area that sit on the banks of the canals and make for a brilliant day out just pub hopping. This is the perfect road trip from London passing some incredible manor houses and quaint villages on your route and it makes for a lovely staycation.
Where is Kenilworth located?
Kenilworth is a small market town in Warwickshire. Within striking distance of Birmingham, Coventry, Leamington and Warwick Castle, but retaining its small-town charm Kenilworth has plenty to offer both residents and visitors. Kenilworth makes for the perfect day trip or book yourself a Staycation here – you won’t regret it.
Warwickshire has a lot to offer the visitor and Kenilworth Castle is just one of the outstanding historic places you must visit. Don’t forget to go beyond the castle though and take a wander through Kenilworth Town I promise you won’t be disappointed.
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What is Kenilworth famous for?
Located just southeast of Birmingham. Kenilworth is famous for the ruins of Kenilworth Castle, founded c. 1120 and celebrated in Sir Walter Scott’s novel Kenilworth (1821).
Visiting Kenilworth
Kenilworth is a small market town that dates back to Roman Times it’s a lovely town with a variety of really pretty architecture you will see Tudor, Edwardian, Victorian and Georgian all side by side in the town itself.
How to get to Kenilworth
A day trip to Kenilworth makes a great road trip from London. It’s only 2 hours and a bit from London up near Coventry. The journey time between London and Kenilworth is around 2h 3m and covers a distance of around 163 km. The fastest journey normally takes 1h 39m. Operated by Avanti West Coast, London Midland and National Express Coventry, the London to Kenilworth service departs from London Euston. It’s also only a short drive from Stratford at under half an hour.
Kenilworth things to do
Parliament Piece
Just off Coventry Road in Kenilworth is a field called Parliament Piece. It is believed this is where King Henry III held a parliament in 1266 when his troops were besieging Kenilworth Castle. The siege was the result of Simon de Montfort’s followers holding off the King’s forces from Kenilworth Castle.
The actions of this parliament led to what is known as the Dictum of Kenilworth which is a law that allows rebels of the King to recover lands that have been seized by the crown.
Throughout the centuries there have been many deer parks located near Kenilworth. These deer parks were the exclusive territory of Kings and those of noble blood. They were essentially a hunting range for sportsmen of the day to hunt deer, these deer parks often provide meat for banquets and the households that owned them.
Kenilworth Castle
Around 1414 King Henry V had a timber-framed hunting lodge and banquet house near the Kenilworth Castle site. This was surrounded by a moat and earthworks and was used by 15th-century Kings instead of the Castle’s state apartments. However, Henry VIII had the house demolished and the timber used inside the Castle.
Elizabeth I visited Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester at Kenilworth Castle several times, the last in 1575. Dudley entertained the Queen with pageants and banquets costing some £1,000 per day that surpassed anything seen in England before.
Kenilworth’s Old Town
Old Town is a stunning example of English history. You can find numerous examples of listed buildings on the High Street – all in excellent condition.
St Nicholas’ Church
The church is built of local red sandstones and it incorporates the Gothic period and the Victorian Gothic Revival and is Kenilworth’s oldest church dating to 1291. The church is on the High Street next to the Norman and Gothic ruins of St. Mary’s Abbey.
The Abbey of St. Mary the Virgin
The Abbey Fields contain the ruins of the Augustinian Priory, founded in 1119 and raised to Abbey status in 1448. The Abbey was surrendered to King Henry VIII’s commissioners in 1538, and subsequently stripped of reusable material.
The Clock Tower
The tower, at the end of The Square, was presented to the town in 1906 by G.M. Turner in memory of his wife. The top of the tower was damaged in November 1940 by the land mine which destroyed the nearby Globe Hotel and the surrounding area of Abbey End.
St. John’s Church
There is a beautiful gothic revival Church St. John’s on Warwick Road in Knights Meadow that was built around 1851 that is worth a visit.
The King’s Arms – 29 The Square
In the 1800s the King’s Arms and Castle Hotel was home to guests such as Sir Walter Scott who worked on his novel Kenilworth from the premises. In 1983 sadly the hotel and accompanying train station were demolished but in 2007 the King’s Arms exterior was copied and re-opened as part of a chain of restaurants.
According to the Kenilworth History and Archaeology Centre, it is thought that Charles Dickens also stayed at the hotel while he was getting ready to write Dombey and Son. The novel was published in 1848 and contains the line “A stroll among the haunted ruins of Kenilworth”.
Kenilworth Restaurants and cafes
The High Street and New Row in Kenilworth has the greatest concentration of unique shops and businesses. It is an absolutely charming place to take a stroll and perhaps grab a seat at a lovely outdoor cafe and enjoy a cream tea.
We highly recommend Alexa Lauren Patisserie on High Street. A Cordon Bleu-trained pastry Chef owns the cafe and they not only serve some of the best cakes and scones in Warwick but they have 21 loose-leaf teas to choose from along with coffee, prosecco and great cakes.
On Castle Hill Road you will find Time for Tea which is a delightful cafe that serves everything from cream teas to roast beef dinners. This is the perfect place to have a great breakfast before you head to Kenilworth Castle.
We were treated to an absolutely incredible meal at the Cross Pub and Restaurant by Shakespeare County and in all honesty is probably the best meal we have ever eaten in England.
The Cross Pub and Restaurant is a Michelin-starred restaurant located on New Street Kenilworth. We began with a glass of champagne and an amuse-bouche featuring a gooseberry puree and a smoked mayonnaise to dip these little balls of deep-fried perfection in. Hubs is still trying to figure out how to smoke mayonnaise. As you can see from the photo we didn’t hesitate to dig in before we took the picture.
My starter was a deeply flavourful Cornish Crab soup with a saffron Rouille and fennel. A rouille is a sauce that is made of olive oil with breadcrumbs, garlic, and saffron and it is served poured around the fennel at the table. The taste lingers on my tongue even today.
Hubs starter was a Crispy Duck Egg with smoked haddock, potato and cheese in a cream sauce. Expecting some type of Scotch egg this was simply a masterpiece. A delicate duck’s eggs is a crunchy shell that when opened the rich yolk melts into the creamy pool of haddock and potatoes. Divinely inspired.
For mains Hubs had the Duo of Beef with the Cross’s famous Pickled Walnut Pie and a fork-tender pave of beef sirloin. It is the first time he’s had beef in many months and he was literally in heaven. The Pie is a beef one with crunchy pickled walnuts in a rich and deep sauce. That pie was a dream the pickled walnuts just added that touch of crunch and sharpness that the dish deserved.
I had a Loin and croquette of free-range pork with celeriac, baby leeks and a tart gooseberry puree. What a combination of flavours. You don’t ever see gooseberries in N. America and they added this sharp touch of flavour that cuts through the pork’s richness and delights the palate.
We didn’t have much room for dessert but we decided to share an incredible caramel almond floating island with a superb coffee that left us hungry for more.
The restaurant was casual and the staff were incredible I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this place to anyone who just loves great food. Be warned though you will be shocked at the cost of this place, it’s so reasonable it makes you wonder why anyone would ever eat at a chain restaurant.
Best pubs in Kenilworth
There are quite a few pubs worth checking out in Kenilworth. The Virgins & Castle serves traditional pub food and has a heated garden. The Queen & Castle is a gastropub with both British and Mediterranean foods.
A 3-minute walk from the Castle you will find the Clarendon Arms an old traditional pub with gorgeous stained glass and great British food including highly rated Sunday Roasts.
More places to visit in Kenilworth
Little Virginia
Originally consisting of 15 cottages dating back to the 17th century Little Virginia is named after the famous potatoes brought to England by Sir Walter Raleigh who planted them here. The cottages originally housed the masons and builders employed by Robert Dudley to work on the Castle.
Millennium Walks
As you approach Kenilworth Castle you will see the massive ditch that surrounds it these were huge water defences that were created by damming the local streams, and the resulting fortifications proved able to withstand assaults by land and water.
Today only the earthworks and masonry ruins remain of the 13the century barbican. this is now the carpark for the Kenilworth castle which was once called the Tiltyard and was used for jousting in medieval times. This tiltyard acted as damn and was part of the defences of the Castle. to the East lay what used to be called the Lower Pool and to the West, a huge lake called the Great Mere. These days the Great Mere is a meadow.
Nature Reserves in Kenilworth
There are four local nature reserves in Kenilworth all with their own small eco-system.
Parliament Piece
You will see the cattle grazing on this walk and the fields are used for taking off hay crops in the traditional fashion.
Knowle Hill
Is a reserve with butterfly conservation at its heart with a recorded 25 species making their home here.
Crackley Wood
Is an ancient woodland with glades, ponds and ditches. Mature chestnuts, oaks and other ancient species are maintained in the woodland as they were in years gone by.
Kenilworth Common
In the centre of Kenilworth sits the common which is an open heathland with small eco-system pockets being slowly established to maintain species such as the common lizard and glow worms.
Stoneleigh Abbey and Stoneleigh Park
Stoneleigh Abbey stands beside the River Avon, the lands granted to Cistercian monks by King Henry II in 1154. The Monastery was dissolved by King Henry VII and turned into a family home for the Leighs.
This English Mansion House is comprised of two halves; the first, made of red sandstone, is a fine example of a Jacobean house, built from the ruins of the monastery. The second, the West Wing was designed by famous architect Francis Smith of Warwick in the Baroque style. Stoneleigh has played host to several people of note, including King Charles I, Queen Victoria, and novelist Jane Austen. It is believed that Jane Austen modelled her novel, Mansfield Park, after Stoneleigh.
Humphry Repton was a distinguished landscape gardener; unlike Capability Brown (who landscaped the grounds of Warwick Castle) he favoured an uncluttered sweep of lawn, Repton re-introduced more formal items around a house such as flower beds, terraces and balustrades.
Repton created red leather-bound books with his watercolours detailing the gardens as they were to be laid out. One of his finest Red Books is Stoneleighs and is on display in the house.
Stoneleigh also contains a lovely tearoom where you can enjoy an Elizabeth Bennet (Jane Austen’s mother) tea for just £25.95 per person (which includes your grounds entry ticket).
The house and grounds can be viewed by guided tours which run Sunday-Thursday at 11.30 pm & 2.30 pm. Tickets £6.00 for adults and if you would like a house tour – add on another £6.00 it’s worth it.
Where to stay in Kenilworth
Chesford Grange
Just minutes from the Midlands’ motorway network, the 4-star Chesford Grange is set on 17 acres of beautiful grounds just outside Kenilworth. It combines historic character with modern chic, offering a spa and gym.
Each spacious bedroom boasts free WiFi, bed linen, and hand-etched glass headboards. All rooms include a private bathroom with a power shower, and there are also tea/coffee-making facilities.
Overlooking the beautiful gardens, the River Room Restaurant serves modern food prepared with fresh produce. Guests can also relax in the Terrace Bar or on the terrace in the summer.
The hotel’s exceptional leisure facilities include a gym, a swimming pool, a steam room and heated loungers as well as treatments in the spa’s 2 beauty rooms.
The Old Bakery
Situated in Kenilworth, 700 m from Kenilworth Castle, The Old Bakery features accommodation with a bar and free private parking. This 4-star hotel offers free WiFi. The hotel has family rooms.
At the hotel, the rooms are fitted with a wardrobe, a flat-screen TV and a private bathroom. A Full English/Irish breakfast is available each morning at The Old Bakery.
The Kenilworth
This small but perfectly formed Kenilworth boutique hotel dates from 1600. It has an award-winning cocktail lounge and stylish, individual bedrooms with free Wi-Fi. Several restaurants are within a 3-minute walk.
Rooms are modern and relaxing with huge walk-in showers, Molton Brown toiletries and many original features. A pot of tea/coffee can be delivered to your room for free from 07:00 until midnight. Continental breakfast is included in the room rate.
The Kenilworth opened in 2005 and is independent and family-run. The main building is Grade II listed so you may have to duck your head and watch your step in some parts!
Nailcote Hall
Set in a beautiful timber-framed house, in 15 acres of Warwickshire countryside, Nailcote Hall has an award-winning restaurant and leisure centre. Just 15 minutes from Coventry, the hotel has free parking.
Voted among the most romantic hotels in the UK, bedrooms at Nailcote have private bathrooms, tea and coffee facilities and a flat-screen satellite TV. Many rooms have scenic garden views.
The Nailcote Hotel leisure centre features a Roman-style swimming pool, hot tub and steam room. There is also a championship golf course and a modern fitness suite.
If you are looking for a staycation or simply escaping London for a day trip Kenilworth will charm you with its shops and eateries and you can enjoy a historic ruined castle and delve deeper into British history.
Have you been to Kenilworth? What did you enjoy the most?
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