It was also somewhere to bring our Singaporean friends who had made the drive up to see and stay with us.
It's real easy to get to Kellie's Castle from Ipoh. We took Jalan Gopeng heading out towards KL/ Simpang Pulai and just keep going. Well, I was driving behind my hubby's car so I didn't really take that much notice of the way, to be honest....
It was a nice sunny day, so we had our umbrellas and hats. We paid for the tickets (RM4 for adults, RM3 for kids) and made our way across the bridge towards the castle. The castle looks suitably old and crumbly so it makes for an impressive background shot. As we crossed the brown swift flowing river, my hubby told the group about his days as a scout when he and his scout mates had to wade across the river! The bigger and stronger scouts would be the first ones to cross and bring a rope along with them. Once safely across, they would hold out the life-line for the rest of the "tender-foots" to cross. Wow! My hubby did that? Sounds like fun. I wouldn't mind doing that too. But the water does seem rather fast flowing.
Not much by way of restoration or conservation really. The castle is empty, not many signs around, just a few hand rails at certain staircases. The Perak State government should allocate some $$$ to conserve Kellie's Castle and provide more supporting facilities if it is serious in making it a tourist attraction. The singular cafe in the grounds has been abandoned and is an eyesore.
The greenery around the castle is pleasant but again more could be done.
Despite all that, the kids still had a good time walking around the castle and reading some ghostly stories on the wall, and some history here and there. We went down into the wine cellar, which was only scary at the top because it looked so dark, but it wasn't very deep. The many rooms are large, airy with high ceilings. We spied a bat sleeping hanging from the ceiling in one of the rooms. I guess because the castle was never completed, it is not as impressive a structure as castles you might find in Europe. Nevertheless, it's not a bad short sight seeing trip.
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