England 2015

Today, we storm the castle!

Warwick Castle, that is, a medieval castle developed from an original built by William the Conqueror in 1068.

It has seen many renovations and upgrades from the 12th to the 17th century, and it is one of the most recognizable examples of medieval castle military architecture in all of England.

Kathy and I have each been here several times, but, like most amazing sites, there is *always* something new to see and do.

This visit will be no exception!

We start off by narrowly avoiding having our heads removed by Mark and John before heading down into the Dungeon for a fun new attraction, showing off a lot of the medieval history surrounding the castle and how events as the Great Plague affected even the most noble of English life.

LeAnn, of course, is selected for one particularly funny section and was locked into a steel cage for several minutes. The actor conveniently “forgets” to let her out until after people had started leaving the room … fun! 🙂

We have the entire day to spend here, but don’t want to miss a single minute. John and Mark are *incredibly* patient and kind hosts, as we run off to climb up onto “The Mound”, site of the original wooden motte-and-bailey castle from the 11th century.

This is the first time that Kathy and I have been up here, as it’s not been open to the public on previous visits. Seeing the castle courtyard from this vantage point is really a treat! We could also easily see the “Birds of Prey” falconry display in the outer yard area below.

We’d seen these magnificent birds fly back in 2006, but from ground level. This vantage point was exciting, too! Seeing the majestic Bald Eagle was cool. 🙂

Of course, though, once you’ve been on the back wall of The Mound, you *have* to go climb the west curtain wall and the two towers at the front of the castle!

So. Of course. WE’RE OFF!

Again, John and Mark wait patiently for us – they’re such good sports. 🙂

We climb to the top of Guy’s Tower, the larger of the two front towers, which gives a commanding view of the Warwickshire countryside and a great perspective on the castle courtyard as well!

We spend some time gawking on top of Guy’s Tower before we head down the stone spiral staircase to cross the wall to Caesar’s Tower on the opposite side of the main entrance.

The staircase is narrow and VERY steep! I have to wonder how many twisted ankles and bruised backsides have happened here.

The cool thing, from this point, is that the vast majority of tourists tend to just go straight back down the stairs and out from Guy’s Tower, rather than taking the subtly-marked exit that leads to the rampart that goes directly across the main entrance to Caesar’s Tower.

This is excellent — being up here essentially by ourselves gives a little more time to appreciate the view and the age of the stones we’re walking across and through!

Caesar’s Tower overlooks the River Avon, which winds past Warwick Castle and across a cool-looking waterfall. In the river are a few paddle boats, including one red dragon and one white swan. Fun!

You can easily see the trebuchet across the Avon from here, as well as the surrounding countryside. It’s easy to imagine being a medieval lookout and constantly scanning the hills and forests for any approaching armies!

Once down from Caesar’s Tower, we head into the gaol (British variant of “jail”) below the tower. This was the original dungeon and is as creepy as the previous times we’ve been down here!

A *very* narrow staircase and a relatively tiny room with one window is all that’s there.

Or is it?

In the window is suspended a cage with a figure (fake, but looks real when backlit!). Along with the cobwebs, it’s a really striking image! Yeesh!

In addition to that, there’s the Oubliette in the corner – a small lightless pit where prisoners who were “destined for particularly harsh treatment” were dumped and often forgotten. Yikes!

Okay … back to the sunlight, please!!!

It’s time for our VIP tour to begin. John’s arranged for a personal tour of the Great Hall, The Mound, and one additional surprise before we go to watch the Warwick Trebuchet launch a flaming ball downrange. 🙂

Ben, our VIP tour guide, is a knowledgeable, well-spoken, and extremely friendly young man. He starts off in the Great Hall, describing the armor and weaponry on display on the walls, pointing out various architecture, and then taking us “behind the red ropes” for a hands-on demonstration of some of the weapons and armor!!!

Getting to hold a mace, short sword, and other items were really cool. It gave you an appreciation (and a bit of an ick factor!) for the hand-to-hand combat that used to take place.

When Ben brought out the great helm, we were excited enough to hold it to look closely … then Ben said to try it on! Well… DUH!!!!

NONE SHALL PASS!!!!!!!

Hee hee.

Okay – enough of that silliness!

Now it’s time for the “additional surprise” I mentioned earlier. We get to go “behind the scenes” at Warwick, into the hidden passageways designed for servants, to see parts of the castle that normal visitors (or, as I call them “peasants”) are not privvy to see!

It’s really cool seeing some of the back stairways and narrow passages, but the *real* treat is when we actually get to go up onto the roof of the Great Hall! Ben does a tremendous job telling us all about some of the events and celebrities that have been held on this roof.

It turns out that some of the early Earls of Warwick and later the Greville family would hold parties here. Charles Greville, the 7th Earl of Warwick, was actually the first British aristocrat to be offered a Hollywood contract and starred in 1938 movie “The Dawn Patrol” alongside David Niven and Errol Flynn.

Greville was so enamored of Hollywood and the celebrity lifestyle that he would host movie-watching parties here on the roof, projecting films onto the painted white screen of one of the retaining walls.

Looking out from the roof from one side, you could see the River Avon, the Trebuchet, and the surrounding countryside for miles.

From the other side, you could see the peasants milling about in the courtyard below.

I, of course, could not resist yelling out “HELLOOOOOO PEASANTS!!!”

A few of the peasants looked up.

I was pleased.

Not sure about the rest of my royal party.

Anyway. ON WITH THE TOUR!

We head off to The Mound now for a little extra treat! Ben gives us the history of The Mound, but also how the early Earls and Ladies of Warwick would bring guests up onto the highest part of The Mound ramparts for not only party refreshments, but also to “show off” the vast extents of their property holdings!

Going behind the locked gate, up onto this ramp, gave an absolutely astounding panorama view of the castle courtyard and the surrounding lands. It’s not hard to see how visitors would have been impressed by this… we were!

See for yourself:

After some more history (including a little “Warwick vs Kenilworth” smack talk!), we head down to the Trebuchet viewing area. Bidding Ben farewell and thanks, I give him a pack of Longhorn playing cards. As he’s an active poker player (had a game that night), he was really pleased with this and said they would be used that evening!

Again – sharing Texas across England! Score!

It’s Trebuchet time!

You can find information about the Warwick Trebuchet here. I recommend reading about it – it’s quite impressive and very authentic!

They definitely know how to play to the crowds, as the announcer describes the Trebuchet, how it was used in medieval siege warfare, and what they were about to demonstrate.

As the two men walked the interior wheels to crank down the Trebuchet throwing arm, dramatic music swelled. An excited voice called out that there was “movement in the trees” and that we needed to attack!

The projectile was lit!

The arm was released!

And the Trebuchet flung the flaming ball of destruction downrange some 600 or 700 feet!

See the video below for the excitement. 🙂

After the Trebuchet show, Kathy and LeAnn wanted to go check out the “Glamping” (Glamour Camping) tents, while I wanted to go see the eagles and falcons they had in the Warwick “Birds of Prey” Mews (stables).

Most of the birds were in their own segmented mews, but the Bald Eagle was sitting on his own large wooden barrel with a huge area around him. I took some great shots of him “screaming”, which REALLY got a lot of people’s attention!

After round up the (ever so patient) John and Mark, we all head back to grab an ice cream cone (yay Flake!) and back into the Castle interior.

The girls want to go view the Warwick Rose Garden and hit the gift shop, so I decide it’s time to “sit patiently” with John and Mark and just people watch!

BUT! Before we leave, I take an excellent Photo Sphere standing in the middle of the Warwick Castle courtyard (click here to view in a new Google Maps tab). Enjoy!

After awhile, we’re all ready to bid Warwick Castle “farewell!” (for this visit!). The history and memories will live with us forever.

A fantastic dinner stop at The Bell in Alderminster, a really cool “gastro-pub” with TREMENDOUSLY GOOD food gives us all a chance to relax and talk more about the day’s adventures.

Too many adventures?

Too much food?

As Kathy would say… RUBBISH!

But, exhausted and happy (again), we return to Charingworth, for tomorrow is another day o’history adventures (and food). 😉