English Heritage

Lord Warden's Apartment

Explore the private rooms of the Lord Warden for the first time and see where the Queen Mother stayed during her visits to Walmer Castle.

Added during the tenure of Lord Granville to accommodate his family, the rooms were originally used as spaces for the children, governess and servants. It was separated into an apartment during the tenure of Sir Robert Menzies (Lord Warden 1966-1978) to allow the main part of the castle to remain open to the public while he was in residence. It has since welcomed the two succeeding Lord Wardens; Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and Admiral of the Fleet Lord Michael Boyce.

Go behind-the-scenes of a private space within the castle and discover stories of the families who lived here.  

The Lord Warden’s Apartment can only be accessed via a tight spiral staircase. Queues to enter the apartment may occur during busy times.

Please click here for more accessibility information.

Kitchen Garden

Explore our range of fruit and vegetables and maybe pick up some ideas for your own garden or allotment.

The Kitchen Garden has grown produce for the castle for nearly 300 years. We use complementary planting methods and grow all the cut flowers here for the castle arrangements. See the seasonal highlights in the garden.

Step inside the adjacent greenhouses bursting with colour in all seasons. Nearby the moat garden also provides a great safe space for children to explore.

Natural Play Trail

Young explorers will enjoy letting off steam as they discover our natural play trail along the woodland walk. They'll love climbing into hollow tree trunks and giant nests, crossing wobbly bridges, conquering climbing nets and gazing up through the trees on leaf-shaped sky seats. They can even learn about wildlife by spotting sculptures of woodland birds dotted around the trail. Created by master designers Studio Hardie, the beautifully crafted play pieces complement the woodland landscape and let children take delight in the glorious outdoors. 

Wellbeing at Walmer

At Walmer Castle and Gardens, we offer a wide range of therapeutic wellbeing activities to suit individuals of all ages and abilities. Set against the backdrop of our beautiful gardens and seaside estate, take part in activities such as yoga, meditation, Shinrin Yoku, and mindful walking, among many other activities that can help enrich your life both physically and mentally.

The idea of good health by the English seaside has been longstanding - in the mid-18th century, Walmer Castle was becoming a comfortable and secluded retreat for its Lords Warden, while retaining its role as a fort. William Pitt the Younger, a former prime minister and warden, delighted in the calm of Walmer.

Through Wellbeing at Walmer, English Heritage hopes to bring the restorative peace and beauty of the gardens, as experienced by Pitt over two hundred years ago, to all those who wish to benefit from them.

Tea Room and Glasshouse Café

Enjoy a tasty treat in in the Lord Warden's tea room and Glasshouse Café. An always changing seasonal menu of snacks, lunches and home made cakes makes the tea room a perfect place to recharge after a stroll around the historic gardens, whilst the Glasshouse Café offers sandwiches, snacks and cream teas in the beautiful setting of the gardens themselves.

Walk to Sandown Castle

If you have time why not take a walk or cycle along the seafront to Sandown Castle? Like Walmer it was built by order of Henry VIII and is one of a chain of 'Device' coastal forts built locally, including Deal Castle, Camber Castle, and Sandgate.