Warwick Castle

by chris cunningham

Blogger Mom…

“Rise and shine to another day of adventure – on our way to Warwick Castle! Looking out our window from Wyckhillhouse a white frosty morn awaits us! Is actually quite lovely with a light layer of white covering the landscape. Roads are dry so that is good. Slight problem getting ready to leave. Went to wash my face and ….Yikes, that water is COLD. Ok, give it time, I gave up and then Chris went to shower and found the same thing in the shower – COLD water. (Was glad I took my shower the night before)! Called the desk and they offered another room for a shower, so Chris packed up and headed to one of the old rooms, seems it was the NEW addition that was having issues. As we checked out, they tried to charge Chris again and he had already paid for it….so they are having a few company issues. Is a lovely old castle/house and hopefully the hotel chain that purchased it will be able to overcome them. It is definitely worth keeping it!

Warwick Castle is a short drive and we were meeting Liza, her aunt Kala and baby Mia inside. Decided to take the audio tour as they are very informative, so headphones adjusted off we go! Another amazing picture gazing up at this majestic old castle! As we stop at the gate one visualizes the knights and life behind the thick walls-wow! The tour takes us through the mill and engine house then strolled to Guy’s Tower. They warn you at the bottom of the stairs that there are 500+ stairs – ok so it is not the stairs that bother me it’s the – height. So off we went, but I got to the landing before the stairs circle to the very top and decided to – head down. Even at that point the vista was sweeping. On the way to the tower, noticed chestnuts roasting on an open fire – boy, does that sound familiar? Had to try some since I have sung about them, now I can taste them – in England! Quite tasty actually and more importantly – nice and warm!

Didn’t see the girls yet, so we went to the portion of the castle that housed The Great Hall where the nobility are, drank and even slept. Moved through this portion of the castle including drawing rooms, bedrooms, smoking room, music room, and boudoir all adorned with period furnishings and decor and some with period wax figures. The walls coverings, ceilings, moldings and lighting fixtures were all very ornate and very French in places.

On our way to the skating rink, we see Liza, Kala and Mia from across the green! Was lovely to see Liza again and meet her aunt and baby Mia all dressed in a pink bundle including mittens with big blue eyes and a smile to match! On our way to the peacock garden – real peacocks as well as topiaraies – a little too much Disneylandy! I prefer the real ones! The skating rink included these cute lil penguins with handles on each side of their heads sporting skies on their feet – a handy skating partner for those of us who do not skate to at least make it around the rink without falling! We chose to stay on the solid ground.

Time for a break and something hot. Ok, so what is that thing that man is eating over there? Yorkshire pudding, I’m told. Sorta like a bread bowl with stew meat and a dumpling on top! Ok, I can do that (I always thought pudding meant sweet) but while here I must be a lil English. It was actually quite tasty and was nice and hot!

We took in the Ghost Tower which was first built in the 14th century to guard against enemy approaches from the river, but we found it haunted with Ebenezer Scrooge! Always heard about English haunted castles and now I have lived through one!
Some thespians seemed to delight in their parts and I must say I had (as well as Liza and Chris) a couple of surprising moments. A strobe light “caught” us and Liza surprised me with a pic of our “shocking” experience! =)

After looking at the beautiful grounds, catapult and river, we headed to our hotel in Warwick a short 2 miles or so away. Kala and Mia had left earlier in the day and we arrived at a quaint lil hotel that turned out to be quite nice-even internet hookup. Chris was concerned about this one, but actually is verrrry nice. Liza had to return home yet this evening, but we had time for dinner so headed out to find a restaurant where we all enjoyed fish and chips-yum!

After dinner, jumped in the car to take Liza to Kala’s and then the train station. Not sure how many “round-a-bouts” we went through but seems we could not go more than .3 of a mile without entering one. Getting into one was not hard, but making sure one exited at the right one and in the correct lane is another story. We picked up Liza’s luggage at her aunts and got to spend a bit with Kala and family which was fun. Lydia had been to a Brownie outing, brother Thomas busy on his computer and baby Mia – still smiling and happy! Nice to see Kala again and meet her husband.

Got Liza to a later train than we planned and she still had a long train ride home. Chris did a superb job navigating the “circles” and Emily was certainly helpful in getting back to the hotel. Can’t imagine trying to read a map at night, driving on the left and navigating all the circles all at once! Love that technology!

We’re done for today!”

Tomorrow is a travel day.