Warwick Castle

On Wednesday July 30th, the four of us spent the day at Warwick Castle, considered to England’s best medieval castle and a major tourist attraction. The trip involved two short train rides and about an hour and a half. A castle was built on the site on the River Avon by William the Conqueror (the original Norman) in about 1080 AD, and figured in many battles, prisons, sieges, and political maneuverings until it was given to the Earl of Warwick in the 17th century. Then it became a country home and estate for the next 300 hundred years, before being opened to the public. The castle is celebrating some anniversary this year—could be its 1000th, its 500th or any other one since some famous event occurred there—so there were special attractions all day long.

The castle and its grounds are spectacular, and we had a beautiful sunny day to enjoy it. We arrived in time to see the launching of the trebuchet, an oak structure 70 feet tall that sent a 50 pound iron ball at least 200 yards downfield. It was impressive, and Andy took a video that captures the event. Although this one launched an iron ball, trebuchets in the medieval times were often used to send flaming grease pots or diseased animals over the walls of the city. Based on the scorch marks on the ground, they do sometimes send a flaming cargo but we saw no signs of animal carcasses being used. A bit later, we watched a re-enactment of a jousting contest, featuring a variety of events to unseat the other rider, to spear an iron ring, or other sporting contests on horseback. There was also a trick rider who rode standing in the saddle or hanging off of one side with his shoulders inches from the ground. And whatever else happened, the event usually concluded with hand to hand combat involving swords, clubs, and general slamming each other to the ground. The guys playing the knights had to be professional stunt men, but it was still remarkable that no one really got hurt.

A view of all the peasants in Warwick Castle.

The castle featured tours of the dungeon, the ramparts, the ball rooms, armour rooms, and so on. Remarkably for such a large castle, all of the routes ended up at the same gift shop, which was probably not a feature of the original castle. In addition to the medieval rooms, there was also a tour recreating a dinner party in 1898 attended by, among others, Winston Churchill and two future kings of England, as well as various dukes, earls, countesses, and other elite members of British society. Warwick Castle is reputed to be one of the most haunted sites in England but no ghosts were in evidence. We did see the falcon that escaped during the falconry show, one of the dangers of acts involving animals. After a long day together, we ended up back home and played a few board games before bed time.