Zog at Warwick Castle

When we arrived at Warwick Castle, Bertie immediately spotted Zog as we went through the entranceway (he’d be pretty hard to miss, actually!) and we suggested following his trail. At this point, Bertie was far too excited about everything around the castle, so it wasn’t until day two that we actually managed to complete the trail and collect the stamps. We started with a slow wander around to get our bearings, then headed to the Zog show.

We watched Zog on both days – first time in blistering sun, second time in the drizzly rain. It was just as fun both times despite different casts, but the surprise water spray was definitely more welcomed on the sunny day!

It’s the first time we’ve seen a Julia Donaldson stage adaption, and I really did think it was great. There were some small adaptions to the text to help it make sense, but the costumes and props were incredible! The Zog show lasts about 20 minutes, and there is a small screen just to the left of the stage which has a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter which I thought was a lovely, inclusive touch. There were an abundance of bean bags (which were surprisingly comfy!) and picnic tables around the edge so there’s plenty of seating for children and adults alike. I’m not sure it would be the best activity during an excessively wet day, because there’s no real shelter, but that’s to be expected when visiting an outdoor attraction. The drizzly rain we experienced on day two didn’t stop us enjoying the Zog show just as much as the first time. In fact, Bertie even asked to watch it again as we left!

The trail was great fun, once we convinced him to try it! Bertie’s been practicing his numbers a lot recently, so he loved spotting the signs, telling us what they said and which number we needed next. I was particularly impressed with how well he remembered the story of Zog and talked about what was happening in each scene he saw.

Bertie’s favourite scenes were making the dragons roar – he had lots of fun jumping on the triggers! – and the training with Sir Gadabout’s assistant. She was really lovely with the children and adapted the activities to their age, interest, and ability to listen! She even got parents involved, which always gets a laugh out of the kids.

Although we went on a quiet day (despite the school trips!) I can imagine the Zog show and trail get particularly busy with young kids on busier days. My suggestion would be to do the trail later in the day. Most people probably do it first (it’s pretty much the first thing you see as you enter Warwick Castle) so by waiting until a little later, most people will probably be finished with it. I’d recommend getting to the Zog show a good 10 minutes before it starts to make sure you get a seat and get comfy as it does fill up fast!

There are other activities – you can meet Zog and there’s a whole Zog adventure playground, but we didn’t have time to explore these. Definitely a reason for us to come back in the future.

If you have child who likes Zog, then this is a real must-do. You could easily spend a whole day here just exploring the Zog activities, and I know we’ll be back to explore them again! Heck, it’s worth it just to watch the Zog show!

Read more about our trip to Warwick Castle here.