Where: Warwick, England
When: April 27, 2012
With who: Dave and Nic
Dave, Nic and I decided to go on an impromptu, post-exam, day trip. And to relive our recent trip to Scotland, we decided another castle was in order. So we picked the closest one to London we hadn't been to yet, hopped on the train, and off we went. The place: Warwick Castle.
Warwick Castle is one of the serious old castles of England. It was built by William the Conqueror in 1068. While that should give it a certain air of nobility, it has recently been purchased by Madame Tussauds and turned into...a Medieval Times version of a very old castle. Allow me to explain...
The town of Warwick was lovely. As we walked through, it was all tiny little shops and bendy roads - exactly what you would think of a small village. As we approached the castle walls, we expected to find a very serious, stoic castle.
Inside the castle walls was a giant green lawn surrounded by the castle all around. Kids ran around, dressed in store-bought knight and princess costumes, wielding wooden swords. Small tents with actors pretending to be from the 11th century were everywhere. It was quite the spectacle.
Our first tour was called "The Kingmaker". Basically, you toured what would have been the area of the castle that was used to prepare for war in 1450 when the Earl of Warwick prepared for battle. As you walked through, wax figures have been set up all over, showing what it would have looked like to get ready for war. As expected, the figurines were totally cheesy, but also, they kinda made it easier to understand what the castle back in the day would have looked like.
I then noticed the bow and arrow area, and decided the time had come to learn how to do this.
When I picked up the bow, I totally sounded like the ditzy girl, like "so like, how do you keep the arrow in place againn? teeheehehe..." I was fumbling around like a fool. After a bit of guidance, I straightened up, figured it out, and shot my first arrow. BAM - bulls eye.
The instructor turned around with this look on his face to Dave and was like, uh, dude, be careful with this one. I very much enjoyed it - maybe my new hobby? I did request to Dave to purchase me the mini bow and arrow set with the suction cup ends, but he didn't fulfill.
Next up was another small tour called "Secrets and Scandals: The Royal Weekend Party". The tour is supposed to take you through the events of a weekend party in 1898 held by the Countess of Warwick. All of England's top people attended, including the Prince of Wales (future King of England). We learned that apparently these weekend getaways were quite popular for the "swinger" lifestyle of England's nobility - everyone just hooked up with everyone else!
The rooms all have wax replicas of the party guests, along with a description of the gossip that surrounds each of them.
The woman on the left is supposed to be the Countess. Of her several extramarital affairs, one was with the Prince of Wales himself. Two of her children were fathered by men other than her husband, and apparently, her husband knew it. In case we needed a little more understanding of how people all scandalously slept around, the bed on the right had sound effects of a "love affair" and rumpled clothes around it. Awkward.
We headed back outside and attempted to attend a "trebuchet" demonstration. Basically, they fire of this giant catapult on a daily basis. But sadly, due to the wet conditions, it wasn't operating the day we were there. And we so wanted to find a way to get Dave onto that thing....oh well, next time.
Before leaving, we walked some of the grounds outside the castle along the River Avon.
We stopped for a quick drink and snack in the town of Warwick before heading back to the train. On our way back to the train, we grabbed a bottle of wine for the ride. Sadly, we were unable to secure ourselves cups. It's amazing how many stares you get when you drink wine out of a bottle. But after the day we had, we didn't really care.
When: April 27, 2012
With who: Dave and Nic
Dave, Nic and I decided to go on an impromptu, post-exam, day trip. And to relive our recent trip to Scotland, we decided another castle was in order. So we picked the closest one to London we hadn't been to yet, hopped on the train, and off we went. The place: Warwick Castle.
Warwick Castle is one of the serious old castles of England. It was built by William the Conqueror in 1068. While that should give it a certain air of nobility, it has recently been purchased by Madame Tussauds and turned into...a Medieval Times version of a very old castle. Allow me to explain...
The town of Warwick was lovely. As we walked through, it was all tiny little shops and bendy roads - exactly what you would think of a small village. As we approached the castle walls, we expected to find a very serious, stoic castle.
Instead, we basically found Duloc (see Shrek). We decided that this would be a slightly less...authentic experience than usual and to just go with it.
The view of Warwick Castle with the boys in the stocks.
Storming Warwick Castle.
Inside the castle walls was a giant green lawn surrounded by the castle all around. Kids ran around, dressed in store-bought knight and princess costumes, wielding wooden swords. Small tents with actors pretending to be from the 11th century were everywhere. It was quite the spectacle.
Some particular gems that I liked best - the outside of the dungeon.
Our first tour was called "The Kingmaker". Basically, you toured what would have been the area of the castle that was used to prepare for war in 1450 when the Earl of Warwick prepared for battle. As you walked through, wax figures have been set up all over, showing what it would have looked like to get ready for war. As expected, the figurines were totally cheesy, but also, they kinda made it easier to understand what the castle back in the day would have looked like.
While in the blacksmith's quarters, I tried on some armor. I was not made for battle. And what the hell is the guy in green doing behind me?
Next up was a "birds of prey" show. After watching the show, we found the area where all the birds are kept. It was a very proud moment for Dave when he found the bald eagle.
Something happened that made everybody look slightly to the left.
I then noticed the bow and arrow area, and decided the time had come to learn how to do this.
When I picked up the bow, I totally sounded like the ditzy girl, like "so like, how do you keep the arrow in place againn? teeheehehe..." I was fumbling around like a fool. After a bit of guidance, I straightened up, figured it out, and shot my first arrow. BAM - bulls eye.
The instructor turned around with this look on his face to Dave and was like, uh, dude, be careful with this one. I very much enjoyed it - maybe my new hobby? I did request to Dave to purchase me the mini bow and arrow set with the suction cup ends, but he didn't fulfill.
After the campier part of our day, we climbed to the top of the castle walls for a view of the countryside.
It's kinda cool, you can walk the entire perimeter of the castle from the top of the castle walls.
The views out on Warwick and the surrounding countryside.
Next up was another small tour called "Secrets and Scandals: The Royal Weekend Party". The tour is supposed to take you through the events of a weekend party in 1898 held by the Countess of Warwick. All of England's top people attended, including the Prince of Wales (future King of England). We learned that apparently these weekend getaways were quite popular for the "swinger" lifestyle of England's nobility - everyone just hooked up with everyone else!
The rooms all have wax replicas of the party guests, along with a description of the gossip that surrounds each of them.
The woman on the left is supposed to be the Countess. Of her several extramarital affairs, one was with the Prince of Wales himself. Two of her children were fathered by men other than her husband, and apparently, her husband knew it. In case we needed a little more understanding of how people all scandalously slept around, the bed on the right had sound effects of a "love affair" and rumpled clothes around it. Awkward.
Some other rooms in the castle.
We headed back outside and attempted to attend a "trebuchet" demonstration. Basically, they fire of this giant catapult on a daily basis. But sadly, due to the wet conditions, it wasn't operating the day we were there. And we so wanted to find a way to get Dave onto that thing....oh well, next time.
We headed into the last unexplored area of the castle, the Peacock Garden.
While wandering around, Dave and Nic were fortunate enough to rile up not 1, not 2, but 3 peacocks.
Hypnotising.
Peacocks just roamed this whole garden like they knew they owned the place and that the topiary was all in their honor.
At that point, the castle was shutting down and we were ready to start heading out. We went back towards the center courtyard of the castle, but not before one last ridiculous occurrence. In the middle of the courtyard, a giant hoop had been set up and children were encouraged to throw stuffed rats through the center. What??
I gave it my best shot, and failed miserably.
Before leaving, we walked some of the grounds outside the castle along the River Avon.
Some other items around the perimeter, meant to add to the..."authenticity".
We stopped for a quick drink and snack in the town of Warwick before heading back to the train. On our way back to the train, we grabbed a bottle of wine for the ride. Sadly, we were unable to secure ourselves cups. It's amazing how many stares you get when you drink wine out of a bottle. But after the day we had, we didn't really care.
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