(Price should have been £45.50 and we got it for £28). Sadly we had had the night from hell the night before, with the boys being up at 5am and me being up since 4.30am because of the bed at my Mum’s being equivalent to a device of medieval torture. By 5.30 am T and I were on the downstairs sofa with me pretending to be asleep in a desperate attempt to convince myself that tiredness would have no bearing on the day. It didn’t help that my ribs were so bruised from the bed that I couldn’t take a full breath in and by 7.30am I had a very “tired and emotional” meltdown……not nice. Anyways, meltdown over we piled in the car at 9.30 and made our way to Warwick with 2 semi conscious children. We got out of the car to a biting wind and an uphill walk…..not the best of starts especially as I couldn’t complete my sentences due to bruised ribs as I tried to explain to T why the castle was built on top of a hill. D even offered to get me a wheelchair to do the day in……. hmmmmmm. 
Anyways there weren’t that many people there when we arrived apart from a large party of foreign students….who were quite rude so we avoided them! T spotted the archery tent
as soon as we got though the castle gates and because it was so quiet he was allowed to shoot a few more arrows that we paid for! L even had a go! We then retreated inside to get out of the cold. Sadly we ended up in the Edwardian bit which wasn’t that interesting for the boys but it did give us a chance to warm up! We then made our way to the great hall to have a look at the suits of armour and even try bits on! Naturally D joined in and I turned round to see various bits hanging off him!!! We then wandered down to have a look at the Trebuchet and watch the talk. 
The guy doing the talk was brilliant - very engaging to both children and adults, T was totally absorbed and to our surprise to was L who had a proper little chuckle when the Treb master described how dead pigs were sometimes shot into castles as early germ warfare!!! According to L pigs don’t fly!! On the way back from the Treb we got chatting to a guide who was really happy to talk to us about the middle ages and sayings that we get from there “Don’t shoot the messenger” (they once fired a page sent out during a siege to negotiate a treaty and the siege army sent him back via the Trebuchet) and “Pot luck” (food was cooked in huge pots over the fire and instead of emptying it out of the end of the day they just topped it up so it was pot luck whether you got the fresh stuff at the top or the festering goo at the bottom….which may just kill ya!) He pointed us in the direction of knights and Squires exhibit and the dungeon.
We took loads of pics – It was very dark and although great fun and very atmospheric not that great for an achy preggy lady who can’t really see her feet! The exhibit was great tho with films at the beginning, waxworks to look at and armour along the way to touch and again try on. In the laundry room we had a lovely chat with the guide there who explained why the ragged staff
emblem was on everything. I was also really impressed when we got the apothecary bit that both boys could identify a lot of the herbs!! That’s what happens I suppose when you grow up with a hippy Mummy and a chef daddy!!!! The dungeon was cold and damp and very tempting to consider adding to our house……there is a lot to be said for an oubliette!!D then took the 2 boys on the perilous journey up the tower, along the curtain wall and back down again - lots of stone spiral stairs…..thin railings with big gaps and sheer drops that made me shudder. So I sat in the sun and circled my ankles and tried not to freak when the boys leaned over the painfully thin railings to wave to me….bless them!
So after their trek up the tower and a discussion on Machialations and Crenellations and all the other “ations” we find in a castle the boys disappeared off to the archery display, we hit the gift shop and D started making plans to rope G (our next allotment neighbour) into making a mini Trebuchet……. Bows and arrows (hey we could even go and source the correct wood from the dog walk)………..practice swords!!! Coz its not like they have taken to using any available stick as a sword or anything!!! All in all a really good kick off to the project – perfect castle to go visit if a little on the pricey side and it would have been much more enjoyable had it not been so blinkin cold. But the guide book is fab as are the kids bits I picked up and it would appear that the whole jaunt really captured both kids imagination – Job done!!!!
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