Children’s earliest memories of castles are more than twice as likely to be of a fictional castle as of a real life one, English Heritage revealed today (5 July 2018) as the charity launched a special #LoveCastles season of activities to encourage families to get out and visit a real castle this summer.

The survey of 2,000 children and adults showed that whilst adults’ first castle sighting was likely to have been in real life, nearly two thirds of children (59%) reported their first memory of a castle was from TV, film or fiction, and all three of the top castles children would most like to visit were fictional, with Hogwarts, Cinderella’s Castle and Elsa’s Castle from Disney’s Frozen topping the list. Meanwhile, though nearly two thirds of children (63%) said they enjoy visiting castles, less than 40% had visited one in the past year, and 12% had never visited a castle at all.

English Heritage looks after 66 castles across England - more than any other organisation in the UK - and this summer the charity is seeking to address the imbalance, with a bumper #LoveCastles season featuring a range of events and activities, from jousting knights in shining armour to sandcastle building workshops to - for those who just can’t leave the screen at home - on-site Minecraft workshops. All tailor-made to encourage families to create a castle memory to last a lifetime.

Kate Mavor, Chief Executive of English Heritage, said: “We are in danger of creating an iCastle generation, who have only ever seen a castle on a screen. Whilst most of us can remember our first trip to a castle – whether on a day out with the family or a school trip – today’s children are increasingly likely to catch their first glimpse via TV or film rather than in real life. This summer, English Heritage is calling on families up and down the country to reverse this trend, and take a day out to a real life castle, where kids can run around in the sunshine, watch gallant knights jousting, build a sandcastle or - for those who just can’t give up the screen - build a castle in a special Minecraft workshop.”

The survey also showed that more than half of children say they actively ‘love’ castles, and a similar proportion wish their parents took to visit them more often. 41% wished they lived in a castle and more than three quarters of those polled said it’s important to see such buildings in person - in order to learn more about the history of our country.

For more on English Heritage’s #LoveCastles season, see: http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/castles