Visit To Kenilworth Castle

Thursday. 12.40 p.m. Continuing my weekend away in Worcester. On Sunday we were all going to Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire, to a historic event with knights and a medieval theme to it. I have been to Kenilworth Castle before when Carol and I were members of English Heritage, and we got in free. Chloe and Steve are members, and we got reduced rates to get into this event. Steve managed to book online on Saturday. I was given an English Heritage sticker to put in my car's windscreen, and so got free parking at the castle. Steve went with the children in their car, and Chloe came with me in my car. It was around a 45-minute drive from Worcester to Kenilworth.

There were a number of things going on within the castle over the course of the day, including knights in armour taking part in archery, and other forms of medieval arms, such as fighting with staves, swords and so on. These were really full-on bouts and the whole gave a real theatrical atmosphere. Very colourful and exciting and the three boys, George, Eddie and Arthur seemed to be totally intrigued.  There were several sessions of different aspects of fighting, which ended around 3.30 with what is called a melee (do a Google search to discover what this is.)

Chloe had bought picnic food, so we were able to have something to eat during the course of the day. 

The three grandsons seemed to relish clambering about on the ruined sections of the castle. When we had our lunch, some distance away from the main activity of the history festival (for want of a description for the day's events.) George and Eddie climbed up a slope and seemed to enjoy enormously sliding down on their bottoms! As a result, their clothes got somewhat dirty, but what do you expect young boys to do? When there's such a great place to explore and then slide down, make the most of it.

We had a look inside the gatehouse, several floors of interesting stuff on the various characters who had either lived in Kenilworth Castle or who were connected to it in some way, which included Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley and then a walk around the Elizabethan garden, which was actually a reconstruction of what historians believed one was like and then we went to watch the falconry display, which was, as far as I was concerned, the best part of the whole day as I really enjoy seeing falcons and other birds of prey in flight.

Once we had seen the final session with the knights, it was time to leave for home. I thought it probably a good idea to move towards the car park before the rest of the crowds had the same idea, otherwise, we would have been inundated, and it would have taken some time to reach the car park, with one child in her pushchair/buggy (not sure which.) and rounding up the three boys. So we got to the car park and I bade farewell to them all as they were returning to Worcester and I was driving home to Milton Keynes.

Spring Bank Holiday Monday Outing To Packwood House

Carol is currently on Half-Term holiday from Milton Keynes Academy this week. Unfortunately she has developed a really nasty cold with a sore throat. It seems vastly unfair that you work yourself half stupid for the previous half of the school term, to then come down with a cold when you have time off to enjoy things and relax. We had intended going somewhere or other, most likely a National Trust property and had consulted the National Trust website to see what was the closest property which we hadn't visited before. We had considered Kedleston Hall in Derbyshire, which we had hoped to visit over the Easter holiday period, and when we had driven up the M1 had got caught up in such awful delays caused by roadworks that we'd abandoned the journey and didn't actually visit any property on that particular occasion. So this time we decided on Packwood House, in Warwickshire, and not far from an English Heritage managed property, Kenilworth Castle. We had to put petrol in the car so went to the Shell station in Grafton Street before driving towards the A5 and out of Milton Keynes, thus avoiding travelling north on the M1 as we had looked at the A.A. travel website to discover that the roadworks on the Motorway were continuing. We drove up the A5 as far as Weedon and then turned off onto the A425 for Leamington Spa, a road we have used on several occasions.  Having driven past Daventry we had a need to find a toilet, and none appeared to be available immediately (a hazard of driving on long journeys, we find, not too uncommon, unfortunately.) Then we saw a sign at the side of the road for Skylark Fields Farm Shop, which appeared to have a cafe on it's premises and seemed perfect as a place to stop, with toilets ('comfort station' as Americans call such facilities. I don't like euphemisms particularly, but this one seems more than appropriate.) We had gone past the entrance and so it was too late to draw in to the entrance so we went about another quarter of a mile and turned the car round in the entrance of an agricultural machinery business and headed back to the turn for the farm shop we'd just seen. When we had done so we weren't even sure that this place was going to be open and then saw a field full of chickens, in amongst what looked like Christmas trees. These were free-range chickens and there seemed to be hundreds of them, possibly thousands, all happily pecking the ground and enjoying a very pleasant existence, certainly far better than hens that are kept in wholly unsuitable battery cages. We drove into what was definitely a farm yard with plenty of places to park and the cafe was indeed open and alongside a farm shop. We went into the cafe and were treated to a very pleasant sight with a well-stocked counter with cakes, sandwiches and other delicious food items. We sat a a table and we were able to see even more of the chickens outside in the meadow below the cafe in a delightful valley and a really lovely landscape of fields and trees beyond as far as the eye could see and not a single sight of roads or towns. We ordered coffee and I had chocolate cake (this after we'd used the toilet facilities, I must add.) All  extremely well served and the cake was excellent. Considering we hadn't known about this place it was very welcome to come upon it the way we did and from what we saw of the cafe, which when we were there was very busy, particularly by a large group of cyclists who seemed to be enjoying the food and drink. We next went into the adjacent farm shop which was well stocked with a wide range of food items and Carol was able to purchase a jar of raspberry jam which was sugar free, although I don't know how you can make jam without sugar as it's the principal ingredient of jam, along with some sort of fruit. The address for this delightful place is Shuckborough Road, Staverton, Daventry, Northants, NN1 6JY. There is a website at www.skylark-farm.com. we have decided that we must return as there is so much in the farmshop we'd like to sample, and the cafe is far to tempting to not return to as well as being able to watch those hens peking around in that field as well as enjoying the scenery.

We drove away from 'Chickenopolos.' I was put in mind of the closing sequence of the animated film "Chicken Run" where the chickens who escape from Mrs Tweedy's chicken farm, which is run along the lines of a  German prison of war camp and that the chickens are eventually going to end up being processed into pies through the use of an automated machine of gigantic preparations, in a sort of 'chicken utopia.' You'll have to view this fantastically clever film to see what I mean. But the chickens at the place we'd just visited really looked well looked after in their huge free-ranging meadow.

It is one thing to  study a map of the roads leading to Packwood House, but it was another being able to find exactly where we were going in reality. The road network around that area is very confusing, to say the least, and it took us some time to find the place. When we came off the Motorway there was very poor signposting to Packwood. This seems to be the case whenever we go looking for quite a few National Trust properties. I do think they ought to put up a good deal more signs to these places. When we eventually found Packwood it was around midday and the carpark was very  busy. Considering that it was a Bank Holiday and the weather, although not sunny, was fine. Having parked the car we walked to the reception area, a recently built and opened building. It seems that quite a number of National Trust properties have had new visitor centres and cafes built, including Stowe Landscape Gardens, Waddesdon (with it's new carpark facilities.) amongst others. We then went into the restaurant and had another coffee as well as roast pork baps and wedge potatoes. Very tasty indeed. Having eaten we wandered out into the gardens and spent time admiring the quite magnificent features of Packwoods surroundings.

A somewhat quirky and original garden design. A great many clipped hedges made up one area of the garden and it must take a great deal of time and effort to keep these hedges shaped and so well kept. We had a timed ticket in order to visit the interior of the house and this was due to be at 2.30 so we had a couple of hours to fill before we could go back to the house for our tour. We walked around the lake and saw some delightful follies which had been built. A bit difficult to describe, but here are a couple to give you an idea as it's a bit difficult to describe in words.

Original and certainly unusual, particularly the huge bed. Never seen anything like these constructions before.

We went into the shop to browse and I bought a Packwood guidebook. We have quite a large collection of other National Trust  guidebooks properties we'e amassed over the years. The house is interesting but not the most fascinating place we've visited and I have to say I found the gardens more interesting than the house. We didn't spent that long looking around and then came back outside and returned to the car and drove back home, but it was a pleasant enough day considering the weather and one thing and another.

Spring-Like Weather

For the past couple of days we've been experiencing almost spring-like weather. Carol was on Half-Term Holiday last week. She had to make a doctor's appointment early last week. We didn't go to the surgery on the Monday because from experience we knew that it was likely to be busy, with a long queue outside (I was only the second person in the queue the week before at around 7.45 a.m. when I'd gone to make an appointment myself.) So we'd gone on the Tuesday. It turned out that she would have to have a blood test, so had to go back the next day, at around 9.20 for that. 

The weather was mixed. Some days it was bright and sunny, whilst others it rained. On the Thursday we went to the Heart of the Shires shopping village at Weedon, which is up the A5. We had gone to another a few months ago, on the major roundabout on the A5/A43, just beyond Towcester, called Bell Plantation Garden. We'd had a nice meal in what's called the Plantation Cafe. But when we'd arrived this time we discovered that there was major roadworks on the roundabout. It looked as if they were widening the road and making the roundabout a good deal wider, putting in several new lanes for traffic. We have shopped in the Aldi branch which is nearby in the past. So we had travelled on until we came to the shopping village at Weedon. We'd discovered these places quite by chance as we've been up and down the A5 as it's a good deal less stressful than using the nearby M1 which is only a short distance away. There is so much more to see as you drive along the A5. There are several quite pleasant garden centres and shopping villages and you pass through a few really interesting villages and towns along the way, one being Towcester. Weedon is at the crossing-place of the A45 which goes on towards Birmingham, Warwick and Leamington Spa and is the way we drive whenever we go to Kenilworth Castle. The east direction heads towards Northampton and eventually Bedford. There are some really interesting shops and outlets at the shopping village, selling a range of items such as housewares, antiques, clothes and gardening items. We had a coffee in the cafe and then drove home slowly. Not an entirely over-exciting outing, but considering we hadn't been out all week it was quite a pleasant little outing. We did have a browse in the antiques centre but decided that most of what they had on offer was really over-priced. Our knowledge of antiques has been acquired as a result of watching such television programmes as Bargain Hunt, Flog It and Antiques Roadshow. I had never heard of Lalique, Famille Rose, or many of the more famous makers until I'd watched these shows.

On Saturday we decided that the dogs needed a well-earned outing, and wanted to take them for a walk. As mentioned in earlier posts, it's quite a military operation as you have to be properly organised for these outings as Alfie, our Yorkshire terrier gets very wound up when he knows we're going out. Fortunately this time he didn't get quite so stressed out, but I had to put the cage into the back of the car without him seeing we doing it. It started out quite fine and sunny, but it began to cloud over as we drove up the A5 as we were going to Salcey Forest, somewhere we haven't visited in quite a while. It turned out that there was building work going at the carpark. It looks as if they are building a new visitor centre. The cafe which is there currently is only wooden, a sort of temporary construction. Also, it was extremely muddy as we walked along the paths, which didn't bother either dog, but when they jumped up on us we became extremely covered in mud. Not a real problem because our clothes could be washed easily in the washing machine later. But, again, it was a nice outing. No sooner had we got back home than the rain began so it was as well we went out when we did and had made the best of the day.

Kenilworth Castle Outing

On Wednesday, as it was such a fine and sunny day, we decided to go to Kenilworth Castle. It has been somewhat undecided as regards the weather over the past couple of days and it has been quite over-cast and threatened rain. We wanted to get the most out of our membership of English Heritage. We've been once before, around six years ago. That time I seem to remember it was quite cold and we had soup in the restaurant. They had begun work on building the Elizabethan Garden, so it would be great to visit again and see it completed. Or that was the hope this time. The first time we joined was when we came back from a few days away we had for our first wedding anniversary in 2008 when we'd been to Chesil Beach and on he way back we went to Stonehenge. I find that a really intriguing place and would like to visit again since they've made some major changes there as well as opening a new visitor centre. We passed the site when we went down to Devon last August for Chloe and Steve's wedding.

The Elizabethan Garden at Kenilworth Castle

We drove out of Milton Keynes and went up the A5 and crossed over to Leamington Spa and got to Kenilworth that way. They have made quite a number of changes at the castle since we last visited, notably the Elizabethan garden, which, as I mentioned earlier, was being constructed the last time we visited. Having an interest in history (we  English Heritage joined this time with a discount from BBC History Magazine which I have a subscription to.) and it's amazing to see the place which is quite central to quite a few 'bits' of English history, notably Elizabeth I and her relationship with Robert Dudley. Also, as I'm something of a William Shakespeare fan and the fact that Stratford-Upon-Avon is so near. I did a course earlier this year on Shakespeare's World and part of it mentioned the fact that possibly Shakespeare visited Kenilworth when Elizabeth was there (although there is no definite documentary evidence for this.) as he mentions something in A Midsummer Night's Dream which could possibly allude to the masque that was performed there. The 'play within a play', the 'Pyramus and Thysbe' story is almost a parody of such a masque.

We wandered about the castle and took plenty of photographs, as we almost always do when we visit such places. They have now put walk-ways up along some of the ruined sections of the castle and you can see how the castle was built.

We wanted something to eat and went into the restaurant which is built inside the stable block. It was very busy as there were children's activities going on within the castle so a great many families with children, one in particular was very noisy and screaming. Carol had to queue up and I went outside to find a vacant table to sit. It became quite over-cast and there were a few drops of rain unfortunately, so after around 3 hours we decided to return home, but this time we went home via the Motorway, getting on the M6 near Birmingham which joins the M1 further south and gradually home to Milton Keynes.

Hot Weather Threatened

We are being told that today may be the hottest day of the summer so far. Infact we are being warned to stay indoors. Carol suffers from asthma and I have to be careful with my heart condition not to get too over-heated. The pollen count is high and it's been very hot and stuffy over-night making sleeping difficult. We have got an electric fan on in our bedroom which makes quite a noise and also having the windows open means that there are extraneous sounds coming in which sets the dogs off barking. It seems you simply can't win with the weather in this country. It's either far too cold, with snow and ice, fog, rain etc. or at the other extreme it's so hot you can barely breathe. There is never a mid-way, happy medium. Carol has two more days at the Academy and then she's off for around six weeks for the summer holidays. We've just re-joined English Heritage so hopefully we can go on some interesting visits to castles, country houses and other intriguing places throughout England. We were members a few years ago and joined when we visited Stonehenge and also went to the History Festival run by English Heritage which is staged every year at Kelmarsh Hall in Northamptonshire. We also went to Kenilworth Castle which is one of our favourite places and hope to go to Wrest Park which is currently being restored to it's former glory. All are free to enter if you are a member of English Heritage. I have a subscription to BBC History Magazine and we got a discount for being a subscriber so we thought we'd make use of the discount and join. We are going to London sometime over the holiday and plan to go to London Zoo. We have got a 'buy one get one free' offer of entry for the zoo when we buy our rail ticket and have already printed off the voucher from the National Rail website.