Kenilworth Castle....Battling for English Heritage

 Norfolk skilfully manoeuvred his boisterous steed, facing his men the Earl spoke with a fervent passion, calling on the throng before him to give their all in the fight to take over the castle. Greeted by an approving roar the columns edged forward whilst on the Castle walls the heavily outnumbered Royalists could only stare out and hope the castle defences would be sufficient to stop them being over run. Screams rang out as men fell from a shower of arrows dropping from the sky sent by the Archers perched high on the turrets, but Norfolk’s army kept marching closer to their goal. Their battle cry rung out as they charged, waving their standards, swords at hand, shields protecting as the castles occupants attempt to repel them. Their first attempt fails and an aura of calm develops as casualties on both sides are carried away and the attacking masses retreat to regroup before trying again.

Amongst the quietness a child cried aloud…… his mothers swift response “ you can have an ice cream when the men have stopped fighting” bringing things back to reality.


This was Kenilworth Castle 2013 style and a re enactment event part of the English Heritages “Let battle commence” programme at sites all around the country. Having to compete against it’s much more heavily commercialised neighbour , the “Merlin Group” owned Warwick Castle, days such as these offer the public the chance to experience medieval activity at a much more family friendly price. Attractions throughout the day included 3 stages of the battle from 1266 that became a 6 month siege and demonstrations by the enthusiastic authentically dressed actors regarding armour, fighting techniques and life in a medieval camp. Shakespearean type performances outlined the story of the siege and the roles that the occupants of each camp would fulfil enthralling both young and old.

 














    
















 

Kenilworth Castle set in the beautiful Warwickshire country side contains the ruins of the original Castle, the meticulously laid out  Elizabethan Gardens, a tea rooms set within a renovated medieval barn and a Tudor Gatehouse, built in 1571. Originating from Norman days the Castle has had a rich and varied history from Battles to Royal visits through to its destruction by the Parliamentary army during the English Civil war.

The large grounds offer ample opportunity for a wander round, exploring the ruins, climbing the ramparts,finding a labyrinth of hidden rooms, an historical adventure playground for kids of all ages.

The Elizabethan gardens have been beautifully recreated with the castle ramparts offering a fine vantage point to fully appreciate its lay out. Records dating from the 16th century giving a detailed description of the garden have allowed it to be authentically replicated, including fountains, statues, arbours and a bejewelled aviary.

The museum within the Gatehouse details the intriguing relationship between Queen Elizabeth 1st and Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester who allegedly wooed the Virgin queen when she visited the site back in 1575. All this amid ongoing scandal of Dudley’s wife being found mysteriously dead at the foot of a staircase as their relationship blossomed. Today's newspapers would certainly have a feast of headlines at such a gossip ridden royal story.

 
 













 

This live medieval exhibition certainly seemed to capture the imagination of the young children amongst the large crowds attending the event. In turn, It certainly seemed the gift shop was doing a roaring trade as the mass fun filled sword fight involving scores of foam sword wielding children seemed to indicate. The English Heritage sites really depend on days such as these to plough much needed funds into their restoration works, one battle we should all be prepared to sign up for.

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/support-us/

 

Kew Gardens....London's Botanical Beauty

 
Continuous sunny weather in London, surely not…but this years English summer has provided plenty of it. Therefore, reluctant to spend time indoors (there will be plenty of rainy London days to go inside the museums), a 30 minute tube journey from the capitals centre took us to the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew. Set within a massive 300 acre site “Kew Gardens” as it’s more commonly known, is home to world's largest collection of living plants with species from all around the globe. This UNESCO World Heritage Site as Spread across its grounds listed buildings such as the historical Glass Houses, a royal palace formerly inhabited by the late King George III as well as iconic structures like the Pagoda in the Japanese garden.

The extent of the site and its many attractions mean you may have to be selective on what you see if you are a one off day visitor. Although the Land train which circles round to stopping points should allow more of the area to be seen if large amounts of walking is an issue to anyone. For any energetic children in your party there are numerous opportunities for them to let off steam.An adventure play ground and indoor themed play areas give the adults a chance to rest weary limbs, although the boating pool may be a little more strenuous for some.

Across the year various exhibitions take place on site promoting different aspects of the plant world, currently running is the "IncrEdibles". Housed in the Victorian Palm House, this exhibit educates visitors on the wonders of all types of edible plants. Inside the wonderfully historical glass and wrought iron structure, decorative spiral staircases take you up to the high level walkways allowing a birds eye view of the foilage beneath. Dating back to the 1840's, the glass houses host a vast range of world wide vegetation in all forms of shapes and colours . It’s literally a walking, interactive encyclopedia of flora, allowing kids in particular to learn about the different species through colourful hands-on quiz boards as well as offering the chance to feel and in some cases, smell them.

 































The more modern Princess of Wales conservatory hosts 10 different climate zones each with controlling temperatures suited to the various plant life within it. From the desert like temperatures of the cacti room, to the more humid heat of the rain forest, though to the swamp area, trees and ferns can be observed at close hand. Keep your eyes open for a surprise encounter as we had when we came across a Water Dragon Lizard casually sitting amongst the vegetation. Apparently the reptiles earn their keep by being a natural pest control within the conservatory.

 
 

The largest of the Victorian glass houses is the Temperate House, although seemily barren of greenery on our visit, we later found out that a five year renovation is due to take place hence the scaling down of the plant life within. However it is still a marvellous structure to see, with the adjacent "Xstrata tree top" walk affording a particularly good view with descending Heathrow bound planes flying at low level in the background.  At 60ft high, the walkway is a 200 metre trek around the top of a forest containing Chestnut and Oak trees offering great views across the gardens and out towards the London skyline.

Although not a massive gardening fan myself, I did find the visit thoroughly enjoyable and
interesting, particularly the use of the information boards, showing how the plants relate to your own life such as production of coffee beans from seed to your mug. The great thing about Kew is that each of the seasons will offer a different experience as the various plant life encounters the conditions it thrives in. This summer visit had allowed us to see the flower beds in full bloom but a return visit to see the autumnal reds, browns and golds of the trees foilage would be just as spectacular.







 Following the short walk back to Kew Gardens underground station you’re greeted with a range of small independent shops to browse round and an outdoor sitting area at the Railway inn to get some well deserved refreshment. After all it’s not just the plants that need regular watering.