Woolly says – It was a day of celebration as Jo reached her 150th year….sorry apparently that is incorrect she’s only 97! Regardless of how many years she has now been around to annoy everyone I knew the best way to celebrate a burpday, head to a castle.
The road to Warwick was a strange on for my carer as her dad used to live in the town and it bought a lot of memories back, so I happily sat back and listened to her reminisces. We were actually going slightly further than Warwick to the delights of Kenilworth.
Kenilworth Castle was founded during the Norman conquest of England in around 1120 and had an important historical role, it was the subject of the six-month-long siege of Kenilworth in 1266, thought to be the longest siege in Medieval English history, and formed a base for Lancastrian operations in the Wars of the Roses. Kenilworth was also the place where Edward II was removed from the English throne
The castle was significantly enlarged by King John at the beginning of the 13th century with a huge water defence being created by damming the local streams, and the resulting fortifications proved able to withstand assaults by land and water in 1266. John of Gaunt spent lavishly in the late 14th century, turning the medieval castle into a palace fortress designed in the latest perpendicular style. The Earl of Leicester then expanded the castle during his tenure in the 16th century, constructing new Tudor buildings and exploiting the medieval heritage of Kenilworth to produce a fashionable Renaissance palace fit for a queen, which in fact is it was as Elizabeth I was a frequent visitor.
Having parked and unlocked the panting machine we crossed a modern bridge and made our way towards the ruins.
The castle made an imposing first impression, we headed into what had one been the renaissance palace with its huge windows and most impressive fireplaces. Jo and I looked up at the strange site of a fireplace in the middle of the wall, holds in the walls gave us a very good idea of how big the floor joists had been.
We climbed upwards and stood admiring the fireplace that Elizabeth I had once sat in front of, holes littered these walls where huge tapestries had once been secured.
Looking through the glassless windows we had brilliant views of the rest of the castle and the fields where there had once been a huge lake.
Making our way to the top floor I had to admire how well preserved the building was, the doorways bore faint traces of where they had once been carved and sadly the soft sandstone made it easy for the 18th century graffiti artists to leather mark.
We crossed over the grassy mound to admire the huge kitchen that had once in this area, with its three fireplaces it must have been an incredibly warm place to work. A small bread oven would now make a nice little hide out for me and my bestie, Sion.
Through an archway and we entered what had once been the area for balls and large celebrations, state rooms would have been above and underneath the cellars would have housed all of the provisions.
A small path allowed us to seethe outer wall and the views across the countryside as well as taking in the splendour of the castle outside.
We moved into the inner court which looked far older, initially it had been a two storey keep but in around 1210 King John added a further floor.
As we turned to look around us, I was flabbergasted to see the Elizabethan Garden, started in the 16th century there were elaborate knot gardens which are still designed to reproduce as closely as possible of their original appearance in 1575, with a steep terrace along the south side of the gardens and steps leading down to eight square knot gardens. Two of the Warwickshire bears graced the balustrade and made a perfect photo opportunity.
Well, I have to say they are making a brilliant job of keeping them, as bright coloured flowers bobbed around in the gentle breeze, I couldn’t help but have my eye drawn towards the marble fountain with a statue of two Greek mythological figures. We wandered around, admiring the plants whilst Alfie the Dog sniffed away happily.
A timber aviary contains a range of birds. The original garden was heavily influenced by the Italian Renaissance Garden at Villa d’Este.
It was lovely to look at and very peaceful, with my tummy slightly rumbling I concluded that the mammoth wouldn’t say no to a snack we headed to the café.
Woolly says – You can go a long way on a scone and blackcurrant jam although getting the jam out of my ears proved slightly harder than expected, even Alfie the Dog got a biscuit from the nice lady. The stable block next to us was a large building built mostly in stone, but with a timber-framed, decoratively panelled first storey. I rather liked its quirkiness.
The last thing to see was the gate house, looking somewhat like a squashed castle with it’s turrets it was a medieval delight, inside was the set up as a dining room and parlour with an incredible fireplace and frieze.
Having passed through the always present shop we arrived back at the car. My carer seemed happy with her day, all we needed now was cake, I do hope that Zoe has that in order.