February Holiday Part Three - Warwick Castle

 We had a bit of a drive from Retford, where we had stayed the night, down to Birmingham, where we had booked a couple of nights in a hotel there. James wanted to spend some time with his parents, as he hadn't been able to see them much recently, due to the pandemic. They live in Birmingham, and the second he returns to the city his Brummie accent returns. There is no longer any S sounds, everything just sounds like a Z!

We spent some time with them and their cat Pebbles, who refused to say hello to me, and after James's dad told me she bit him on the nose, I didn't fancy getting too close. We had breakfast there, and then headed up to Cheshire Oaks designer outlet.

If you've never been before, then the only way I can explain it is by saying it is the gold standard for outlet centres. It's huge, but is easy to navigate, as everything is on this circular sort of route. It's got actual designer brands, it's got actual brands I wear & use (All Saints, Rituals & Denby) and even better, it's got some outlet brands I love, and are just the best (The Works & Cadbury's). I love nice things, but I love cheap things even more!

Anyway, we spent most of the day there, we had lunch and headed back in the afternoon to check in with Pebbles, who still didn't want to say hello to me! We had dinner there, and headed back to the hotel. Interestingly, we were staying in Wall, and only a few minutes walk away from the hotel, we got to see some Roman remains. In case you're wondering, this Wall is actually part of the Roman town of Letocetum, and would have been a rest stop on Watling Street, one of the most important Roman Roads for heading North.

You have to use a little imagination, and perhaps a little research before hand

The museum was closed when we visited, but we did get to wander around the site, looking at the main remains of the bath house & temple. It was a cloudy morning, but when the sun did appear, the sight was beautiful. There are some information panels which tell you more about the sitet, but it may be worth doing a bit of research before or after to really appreciate this place. Find out more at Letocetum Baths & Mansion

We then headed in Birmingham to have brunch with James's parents, their cat Pebbles actually sniffed my hand this time but refused any other contact, until she was all over me when I gave her a tiny piece of cheese. Cats are very fickle when it comes to cheese. Anyone else heard of the cheese tax?

Anyway, we then headed out to Warwick to visit the castle there. We had been to Warwick once before as a stop over on the way somewhere else, we'd had a little look around but didn't have time to visit the castle, so we thought we would go today.

I am just going to state this first bit right now, because I was astounded. A normal adult ticket to the castle is £39. Yes, almost 40 British smackaroons. I was astounded by the price. That is more expensive than the Tower of London. Yes, you read that right! If I had turned up on the day and saw that price, I would have walked away.

I am still astounded! See how much it is today at Warwick Castle

So lets get into it a little deeper. For that, you get entrance to the castle. And that's it. You don't even get access to the dungeons, which come with another fee of £6. Now, here's where you have to be smart. Pre booking your ticket before the day, brings the cost down to £26. That is a fairer price for your visit. However, to make it even cheaper, James discovered that with our lottery tickets we could reduce that down to an even better price of nothing! Don't you just love freebies? Obviously this was February 2022, so check if there's a charge now. Follow the link to the Visit England website, they list 25 of their favourites, but work your way through and see where you fancy going. All you need is your lottery ticket! Visit England - Lottery Tickets

With that all out of the way, I can now tell you about Warwick Castle itself. It is a very well looked after castle, with an expansive fortification system that you can explore. 

The castle began as a simple Motte & Bailey castle in the Norman times, soon after William the First took power. Over time, more fortifications were added, and soon the castle became one of the strongest and built up in England. The castle was under siege during the English Civil War, but survived with minimal damage. Perhaps the most devastating event to the castle was the fire 1871, in which a large part of the mansion house was destroyed after a robbery and arson event by a butler. However, the great hall and the apartments affected have been restored to their former grandeur.

One of the many gates to the castle courtyard, many of which you can walk through and explore, although some of the corridors are very narrow!

Some of the beautiful interiors, I love the black wood with the white wall, creates such a stark contrast.

A view of the main house across the courtyard

One of the charming medieval streets that spread out from the castle. Makes you wander, was there designated resident parking for horse and carts back then?

And this caught my eye from one of the towers, it's the ruined medieval bridge, damaged in a flood many years ago and left as it was since. It is obviously called Old Castle Bridge, to distinguish it from the New Castle Bridge, built a little way upstream. At the time the area around it was closed off, and it's not clear from the website whether access to the banks has been restored or not. And also check out the peacock garden & conservatory, which were both also closed off during our visit, I've heard that they are wonderful!

Our next stop is to leave the Midlands, and head for a very important place, called Ironbridge. More to come, very soon!