Warwick Castle (back for more!)

After a family discussion we decided that the children had not been exposed to enough English culture this school holidays and had definitely not seen enough castles! To remedy this glaring omission in their upbringing a trip back to Warwick Castle was the order of the day. Nathan unfortunately had to work and Grandad was headed to London town for a catch up with past school friends so it was up to Grannie and I to lead this expedition.

As was the case with our previous visit, Warwick Castle did not fail to deliver. While the setting was the same (and let's face it, how much can you change a castle?) the characters we met were different and this time there was jousting. Before we could partake in such 'manly' activities, we had to pay a visit to the Princess Tower. With no father to protect him, Zac was 'forced' to join us as we climbed the enchanted tower, listened to fairy tales and helped choose a wedding gown for Princess Arabella.

Turns out neither of the kids were destined to be rulers of England as that sword would not move.

Zac has decided what he will do when he grows up (and you have to love a man in tights!)

The jousting was definitely the highlight of the day though Zac may argue it was the Princess Tower. We got to watch as Lord Thomas proved his worth against the young Lord Richard in a jousting tournament and then had to fight the Barbarians who tried to usurp the King on the jousting field. It was fabulous to watch as they not only jousted on horse back but took each other on in hand to hand fighting with the Barbarians, naturally, not sticking to any rules.

The other highlight of the day was the roaming story teller who had the kids enthralled during his telling of the Dragon Slayer, Devlin, who took on the dragon that now sleeps beneath the castles outer mound. I have never seen a group of kids so taken with a story (that wasn't on the TV!) and when he told them he would teach them to use their swords later in the afternoon it was a mad rush to ensure that everyone was suitably armed. Zac had already decided that today he was going to buy a Great Sword which he will tell you is very useful as it can be used as a staff or a sword and, according the the Warwick Warriors, is also very sexy. I am sure this came in handy on the medieval battle field.

The Storyteller (did help that he was kind of cute)

Abbey in the Peacock Gardens

The whole Pea family - Cock, Hen and Chick

Ready for combat

Warming up their war faces

Absolutely no encouragement necessary

Zac watches the Warwick Warriors for tips on using his Great Sword

Grannie held hostage outside the castle walls

She bribed her captives with ice cream and managed to escape

When it came time for Sword Fighting School Zac and Abbey were there in a flash. Our host took them through seven defensive then seven attacking moves and brought kids forward to practice their technique. This naturally included suitably rousing war cries to get them into the spirit of things though I think he really had a captive audience.

Zac and Abbey follow the moves

I do not think our host was prepared when he called young Abbey forward to show her stuff. She was literally bouncing on her feet with excitement and while she may not technically have performed the right moves she had him on the run (and the crowd very entertained!)

Abbey prepares to do battle and sizes up the opposition

and they're off!

She runs forward to meet him head on

gets him on the back foot and wins the day!

and she looks like such a sweet little girl!

Our very own Warwick Warriors

A visit to the castle would not be complete without popping in to say hi to King Henry and to show Grannie around the various exhibits. By this stage the day was almost over and it was time for the Royal Parade and the march towards the Trebuchet.

"Hi Henry"

Henry was not amused

Abbey catches up with her princess pals at the Royal Parade

Grannie learnt a thing or two herself about sword play

Zac hated every minute with the princesses! (yeah right)

The mighty Trebuchet

We ended our day exhausted but satisfied that the children had at least been exposed to some English Culture and had had the chance to hone those very handy sword fighting skills.