Heavenly Crafts

Well, yesterday was a busy day. One of my friends from University was up visiting, so we decided to go to Warwick Castle for the day. It was almost 11 am when we got there and, of course, I took my camera! I had a minor panic on the path from the car park to the castle when I thought my camera battery had run out, as I was trying to take some photos of a peacock on the wall above us but the camera would just not work...... it turned out that I hadn't even put the battery in! Talk about forgetful! I guess that was another one of those senior moments that are becoming all too familiar ;).

Anyhow, there were 5 of us altogether, my daughter and two of my sons, my friend Catherine, plus myself. Apart from the moanings and groanings from the elder of my boys, we had a wonderful day. The only moanings and groanings we had been expecting were from the dungeons but you would not believe how much an 18 year old can complain when he feels hard done to because he is carrying the heavier of the two backpacks we had with us! Anyway, fortunately for us (since we had to listen to his complaints), the backpack gradually became lighter throughout the day....

This is the view of the castle on the approach from the car park:

Once you get inside the castle grounds, you can actually go inside most of the rooms, and here is the dining room leading off the Great Hall:

This is a portrayal of life in Tudor times:

The castle is one of the largest complete castles I have been in and is in remarkable condition. They do carry out substantial renovation work, and it certainly pays off. This is the view of the inner courtyard:

More inside shots:

Everyone was dressed up in medieval costume, and speaking the way people would have spoken back then. We actually got to see the Trubuchet in action. This is like a huge catapult which was used in sieges to attack the town, and it was quite something to see it in action. This photo is of the Trebuchet just as the shot was about to be released:

There were several peacocks and a few peahens, and they came up really close, wihtout any apparent fear of us.

Later in the afternoon, the sun came out so it was lovely down by the river, although it was still cold. This the view from the Mill:

You wouldn't think we were only standing on a narrow platform above the mill wheel as the photograph is deceptive. There are actually fairly high walls up on the left and you can't really see the river that well unless you stand where we were. Looking the other way up the river, we could see the sun going down behind the castle walls.

Of course, my youngest couldn't resist the gift shop, and ended up buying this: