Pendennis Castle

Pendennis Castle 

one of the tunnels

It was a nice day with sunshine and cloud. We had an easy drive down to Pendennis Castle and arrived at 11.10. Parking was easy but there was no sign of our family among the few vehicles.

“Let’s walk Lottie around the outside while we wait,” I said.
We followed the moat walk and had reached the castle entrance by the time our daughter phoned to say they were parking.

Gun inspection

 We soon met up and Lottie was more relaxed for having had a leg stretch.

As we entered Pendennis Castle a volunteer let us know that one of the WW2 guns was being fired at 12.00 which would be about five minutes.

“Lottie will hate that,” I said.

inside Pendennis Castle outer wall 

“We’ll head away from the firing area and meet up with you later,” Van-Man replied.

“Can I come with you?” the middle grandchild asked.


“I don’t like guns being fired.”

Leaving the other four children and their parents we walked briskly away. We found a tunnel leading down to a lower level and waited for the gun to be fired. We heard a muffled boom. After five minutes we walked up the tunnel. Boom.

Lottie stopped dead and stared at the sky.

The modern wing

The guns that were fired

“I’m glad we are down here,” she said. “But how will Mummy find us?”

“She will find us easily,” I replied. As we walked up the hill the family appeared, walking towards us. “That’s it,” she confirmed. “Let’s sit on that bench for lunch.”

The oldest children soon finished eating and went to look at one of the gun placements to fill in their trail sheet.

sailing on the estuary

a gun placement

After lunch we explored the castle and grounds filling in the answers to the questions on each sheet. When the pencil was lost through the grating my daughter carried on filling in the numbers with her eye liner.

On entering the main keep Lottie soon decided that this part of the castle was too noisy so Van-Man took her out. Two of the children got separated on a staircase but the older one kept the four year old with her until Daddy found them. I relieved Van-Man and sat with Lottie so he could have a whistle stop tour with the grandchildren.

When we were all reunited the younger children headed for the tunnels again for a last look with Dad before going home.

Looking down at Lottie from the Keep

Van-Man looked wistfully at the WW1 exhibition.

“I’d like to look around that,” he said.

The far shore

“So would I,” my daughter said, and my eldest granddaughter Chloe echoed. “I’ve been learning about World War 1 at school.”

I’ll wait here with Lottie,” I volunteered. “When they come back we will come over to meet you.”

By the time the children had rejoined me and we walked over to the exhibition the three history buffs were coming out of the door.

Time to leave

We headed back to the family home for dinner.

“Chloe enjoyed telling me what she has been learning. I guess she enjoyed having Granddad to herself too.

Chelle cooked for us all using her pasta and garlic bread and took our sausages and added them to the meal.

We left at 18.30 so that they could go to bed ready for school tomorrow.