Free with admission.  In 1461 a family feud over who had the right to be King, later to be known as the War of the Roses, had divided England.  Thomas, Lord Scrope, owner of Bolton Castle, supported Richard, Duke of York, and later his son Edward, against King Henry VI of the House of Lancaster.  He has joined Edward’s army near York, but has left behind a small garrison to guard the castle. Come and meet them, join in their work around the castle and find out how they conducted their daily lives.  See the kitchens at work, have a go at archery, handle the weaponry of the period, make your own candle and enjoy a guided tour of the castle.

The year is 1588. The Spanish Armada has been sighted in the channel, and an English fleet has sailed to meet them. The castle garrison is on full alert although there is no news of how the battle is going. Have the invaders been defeated, or is a Spanish army already on its way to take the castle? Come and train with the soldiers and help defend the castle. You can also join in with the garrison’s daily life. The soldiers still need to be fed, wood to be chopped and the basic necessities of every day life in Tudor England be met.

Doors open 5:30pm
Show start time 6:30pm
Interval 20 minutes

A shipwreck washes the court of Milan up onto a mysterious desert island, inhabited by magicians, sprites and monsters, where nothing is as it seems…

Now in its fourth year, Medieval Music in the Dales at Bolton Castle is the UK’s unique festival of medieval music. For three days, the castle comes alive with the sounds of the middle ages with a huge number of performers and an international exhibition by makers of medieval musical instruments, plus workshops, concerts in St Oswald’s Church, a medieval market and a great deal of informal playing. This year our focus is on the music and times of William Marshal – the great English hero of the twelfth and thirteenth century who died exactly 800 years ago…

There are two ways to attend Medieval Music in the Dales:

• You can buy a Festival Pass for one, two or three days. This gets you access to just about everything  including all the daytime concerts at St Oswald’s, and includes evening access to the Castle when the Medieval Tavern is open for drinks and music-making.
• You can buy the usual castle admission for any day, which gets you access to everything in the castle on that day during normal opening hours – except workshops, which must be pre-booked and are only available to Festival Pass holders. The concerts at St Oswald’s are not included, but you still get all the performances in the Castle, the exhibition, the medieval market, and the Tavern up until 5pm.

Sunday is our William Marshal Day. To add to all the music-making, we’ve got living history from The Household, scenes from the life of the Marshal, and a talk from historical novelist Elizabeth Chadwick, author of ‘The Greatest Knight’.

More information and advance booking at www.medievalmusicinthedales.co.uk

Free with admission.  In 1461 a family feud over who had the right to be King, later to be known as the War of the Roses, had divided England.  Thomas, Lord Scrope, owner of Bolton Castle, supported Richard, Duke of York, and later his son Edward, against King Henry VI of the House of Lancaster.  He has joined Edward’s army near York, but has left behind a small garrison to guard the castle. Come and meet them, join in their work around the castle and find out how they conducted their daily lives.  See the kitchens at work, have a go at archery, handle the weaponry of the period, make your own candle and enjoy a guided tour of the castle.