Warwick Castle

That fairest monument of ancient and chivalrous splendor which yet remains uninjured by time.
Sir Walter Scott, 1828

Located in the centre of Warwick atop a rocky cliff, Warwick Castle, reputed to be England's finest medieval castle, is surrounded by gardens, lawns and woodland. Kassie and I, who left it to the others to climb the narrow steps to the ramparts, encountered both a peahen and a surprisingly unskittish fawn during our stroll along the Avon, far more interesting than the mock battles or lively demonstration by the rat catcher.

The queues to visit the dungeon and torture chambre proved daunting, but we did visit the carefully reconstructed 1898 Royal Weekend House Party, with its wax portraits of important figures of the time (courtesy of Tussaud's Group), including a young Winston Churchill and the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) - not to mention the anachronistic Princess Diana in the Great Hall. For some time we harboured the illusion that a few of the figures were actual people, they looked so lifelike, and waited in vain for an eyelid to blink or an adam's apple to move.

The current state of the castle owes much to the Beauchamp family, the most illustrious medieval earls of Warwick, as they are responsible for the appearance of the castle today. In fact, much of the external structure remains unchanged from the 14th century. It is important to note that the first fortifications were built by Ethelfleda, daughter of Alfred the Great, in 914 and that William the Conqueror ordered the construction of a motte-and-bailey castle in 1068, two years after the Norman conquest. Today nothing remains of either period.

Accompanied By: Stuart and Diana Parnell
Date of Our Last Visit: July 2003