Those that know me well enough, will know that I have a penchant for castles, so you can therefore imagine my delight to be invited to Warwick Castle for the day!
"Attacked in 1264, besieged in 1642 and damage by fire in 1871, the Castle has nevertheless survived the ever-changing fortunes of history. Warwick Castle remained under the stewardship of the Earls of Warwick as a private home until 1978. After being handed over to the National Trust, the property was taken over by the Merlin Entertainments Group in 2007 and remains under their guardianship".
So off we traipsed, the 7 year old (who seems to share my love of castles) was excitedly talking about princesses and knights as we parked easily in the surrounding car park. Although I am not sure if she wanted to be the princess or the knight!
We had the pushchair with us and whilst most locations were fairly accessible, you couldnt take the pushchair into many of the rooms so I was glad that I had also brought the baby carrier with me to climb some of the staircases. We were fortunate that it was a nice day, so were able to park the pushchair up outside the rooms.
My other half has always considered he was born in the wrong century and is convinced he was destined to be a knight, so it was really interesting to be able to look into his family's coat of arms and see that the name dates back as far as the Doomsday book! Who knew!
There was always something going on from rat catching (much fun ensued here), to jousting on the lawn. I suspect that had it been raining, we would possibly not have enjoyed so many of the outside activities but despite the lack of sunshine, it was great to enjoy the fresh air and entertainment outside as well as inside.
We were advised that if our little princess wanted to get into the princess tower, we had better get a ticket in advance so we made sure that we did this on our arrival. The princess tower has alot of steep steps (I am quite convinced people had smaller feet in ye olde times), but when you reach the top, your little princess (or prince) can write a wish in the wish book. Unfortunately the "want to be" knight in our party also wrote in the wish book, saying, "I wish for chicken fajitas tonight" ..... I suspect that this is not what the wish book is for, as it sat amongst wishes for ponies and crowns!
Once she had finished being a princess, she then decided she wanted to be a knight (I hope we dont go through this many career choices as she gets older), so we purchased her a sword ..... our ribs and knuckles havent been the same since!
The whole day was simply great fun and hugely interesting too. Its a fantastic day out for children over half term or even on a weekend. I would suggest getting there early so you get chance to get round to see everything. Unfortunately as our children were under 10, we didnt get to see the Dungeons (although I suspect that the 7 year old was worried that we would leave her there if she wasnt good) so if you want a day out packed with history, fun and entertainment, Warwick Castle really does have it all.
It hasnt helped my penchant for a historical building and much to the chagrin of my gorgeous man, I would quite like to live in one ..... one day maybe!
Tip: If you buy tickets online and in advance, you can save up to 40% on the ticket price.
Information correct at time of release. 12/06/2012
Photos taken by me and should not be copied without permission,
I love Warwick Castle, I lived in the area for many years after going to the University of Warwick (which is nearer Coventry than Warwick, go figure) so I had the chance to go every summer, the jousting is fantastic and the fields are just perfect for a picnic. Oh and the peacocks, I love them!
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