When these magnificent buildings and structures were made hundreds of years ago the last thing that people may have expected them to be at the time was a bed and breakfast. They existed to treat wealthy families of nobility to a luxurious place where they could find comfort, safety, and security.
But what’s it like to stay over in one now? How does the experience change as a current day guest compared to someone who lived there at the time?
Climbing The Stairs
The first step, pardon of the pun, of getting through the castle to where you’ll be staying the night is going up the stairs. Imagine bringing your luggage up the stone area? Not to mention that bag in the day staircases were built with the focus on preserving space. Each step in a medieval staircase was created in a triangle shape. When walking, you had to be very cautious of which foot you were leading this.
Trying to bring your luggage up these steps without the handles, wheels, and easily accessible straps of our current day technology had to be a complete pain to handle.
Tiptoe Through The Window
Sunshine was a little hard to achieve in an old-timey castle especially since windows weren’t really a thing. In order to protect from enemies they really only had archer portals that allowed for a bowman to shoot arrows through. The archer portal looks like small slits towards the top of the towers so that enemies couldn’t hurt the guards who were shooting projectiles from above. However, this also means that most light from within is then artificial.
Expect to sleep if you don’t set any alarms. With the lack of light and the ways the walls were built, it makes a very peaceful setting. It’s also easy to forget what time of day it was. But, speaking of walls…
Enjoy Soundproof Walls
Is it easy to hear your neighbors through you thin wooden walls? In castles, this wasn’t the case. It makes you wonder how secrets got around in Game of Thrones. Some of the walls within certain castle could be up to three meters thick. It’s also why castle structures remain after centuries of weather, wars, and a variety of other elements. Luckily, this also means that staying in a castle overnight is a guarantee for a peaceful night’s sleep.
Watch Out For Narrow Doorways
Much like the construction of stairs, doorways were made with two features in mind: saving space and being sturdy. With the possibility of enemy attack sometimes around every corner, you want to make sure that doorways were as solid as possible to avoid collapses in the architecture.
Interested In A Current Stay?
These are just a handful of features of what it was like to live in a castle back in the day. For a true experience, we advise that you try it out yourself! Check out the packages we have to offer and make a booking today!