Warwick Castle

Today we visited Warwick Castle with eleven hundred years of history. Attacked in 1264, besieged in 1642 and damaged by fire in 1871 the castle nevertheless survived the ever changing fortunes of history. Warwick Castle remained under the stewardship of the Earl of Warwick and later the Greville Family as a private home until 1978. The property was then taken over by The Tussauds Group, which later became Merlin Entertainments Group in 2007 and remains under their guardianship today. The records of a walled building in Warwick can be traced back to the Saxon fortification which Ethelfleda, daughter of Alfred the Great, used to defend against the invading Danes. The first castle to appear on the site was a wooden motte and bailey constructed in 1068 at the command of William the Conqueror. Throughout the middle ages, under successive Earls of Warwick, the Castle was gradually rebuilt in stone.

These beautiful houses where in the main street of Warwick village.

Arriving at the castle.

During the day we held the helmet of the armory worn by the knights and then also the chain mail and we are astounded that they could walk let alone move and actually fight another knight.

The ancient legendary porridge pot along with a large sword and fork belonged to Guy of Warwick who is Warwickshire greatest legend and goes back a 1,000 years. After falling in love with the Earl of Warwick beautiful daughter Felice, Guy embarked on a series of incredible feats including battling dragons, giants and the mythical Dun Cow to prove his valour. After marrying Felice he turned his back on his violent past and took pilgrimage to the Holy Lands. On his return to Warwick he became a hermit at Guy's Cliff and came regularly to the castle to beg for food without his wife's knowledge.

State Dining Room.

Queen Anne Room.

Kevin heading for Guy's Tower.

View from the tower of Mill Gardens. Famed for the quality of its planting in an unbelievable setting. It was created over a period of sixty years by the late Arthur Measures, who made it a personal expression of his love of plants. On one side are the river and the ruin of the medieval bridge, whose roadway once led across where there are now lawns and flowers. In a lucky year, swans nest in its shelter. On the other side, Caesar's Tower looms overhead. The stone walls of the castle give one of the most dramatic backdrops for any garden.
 

A place for every herb and healing remedy here in this little corner of the kitchen.

The peacock garden had so many wonderful peacocks, some of them even displayed their feathers for us.

Another view of the Mill Gardens they were just so lovely with the flowers against the greens which really can not be described.

A little friend I managed to get a shot of during our walk through the estates 64 acres of gardens.

Looking back towards the Peacock Gardens towards the glass house.

Now this is an urn, it stood proudly in the glasshouse.

As promised for those who are interested here is the car that my cousin's friend here in London purchased for us to use during our time here in the UK. A 320 Touring BMW Station Wagon which is lovely and makes us look like locals.

Parked outside our accommodation for the night at the Coach House Motel Haseley Warwick.