Having fun, knight and day
BEN HURST enjoys a good knight’s rest in new woodland lodges at Britain’s most dramatic castle
THEY certainly knew how to live, those knights of old, if the new attraction at Warwick Castle is anything to go by.
The recently completed Knight’s Village is one of Britain’s newest tourist attractions.
The aim is to take staying close to the wild to a whole new level.
Forget glamping – that’s so 1300 – we’re the 21st century now, the peasants are revolting and have much higher expectations.
For a long time Warwick Castle has been one of the top tourist draws, not just in the region but in Britain as a whole.
Some real thought has gone into turning a great asset into what is a truly immersive experience for the guest.
I’d not visited for many years, so I was interested to find out just why it’s suddenly become so impossible to fit it all into one day, meaning people need somewhere to stay.
The focus on the new Knight’s Village is families, and there are two places to stay.
Peasants can enjoy the glamping tents which, when you peek inside, are incredibly well-appointed.
But for us nobility more grand accommodation waited – the Woodland Lodge, a solid, very well built, wooden chalet.
It was on the small side but a lot of thought has gone into making them as comfortable as possible.
And if you don’t have enough room, then larger Knight’s Lodges sleep up to seven.
The décor includes shields, quivers of arrows and grand wooden beds. It’s as 13th century as possible, albeit with running water, showers, TV and wifi.
I was aged about nine when I last visited Warwick Castle. All those years ago the place was impressive to look at – but there was no interaction. How things have changed! It has now become entirely possible to spend two whole days there and not at all feel like you’re filling time. The focus is on keeping the kids happy. And as any parent knows, if the children are happy, then you’re happy. Staying in the Knight’s Village also means that you get special access to some of the extra stuff.
Excellent live theatre performers really come into their own when they’re interacting with children. Our kids went through special knight training which involved them getting to know the best methods for chopping their enemies into tiny pieces. Wielding metal swords, it ended without any serious maiming.
They also got the chance to have a go at archery on a special range next to the beautiful river Avon, and typically wellacted was a bedtime story for princes and princesses.
A medieval-style buffet dinner was held in the Medieval Banqueting Hall in the village.
At £18.95 per adult and £9.95 per child it seemed a bit pricey– especially as roast potatoes and Yorkshire puddings had a distinctly ‘Iceland’ look about them – but it seemed to go down very well with the children.
Included in the price is breakfast, and this was again a buffet with an impressive choice of fruit, cereal, waffles and pancakes.
For the less health-concious, there was an enormous fry-up (no prizes for guessing what the kids went for).
Some of the shows will live long in the memory, in particular the flaming trebuchet (a massive catapult using a counterweight) shot, which was very impressive.
The birds of prey display was fantastic with sea eagles and bald eagles amongst others swooping low over the audience, their enormous wingspans and incredible flying skills leaving a real impression on watchers.
The famous dungeon experience certainly lived up to its notoriety.
The performers seemed to take great delight pushing the boundaries in leaving visitors feeling both disconcerted and fully immersed in the horror of what it must have been like.
The castle itself is the centrepoint, with the walk across the battlements not for the faint-hearted. There are very narrow spiral staircases, large numbers of steps and vertigo-inducing heights (not to mention holes in the floor above huge drops with just a grille across them).
With it’s brilliant character performers, Warwick Castle is a truly modern, ancient attraction that’s well worth taking two days to explore.