Good days and great knights
ADRIAN CAFFERY GETS ALL MEDIEVAL ON A VISIT TO WARWICK CASTLE
IT was a knight to remember as tales of dragons and princesses were told in the grounds of a medieval castle.
For starters, Zog and Princess Pearl climbed out of the pages of Julia Donaldson’s best-selling children’s book to recall how they became flying doctors.
Then, as bedtime grew near, a sword-wielding knight recalled a tale of another fire-breathing friend which enthralled young listeners and – like all the best pantos – amused mums and dads.
Accident-prone Zog and Pearl read their story in Warwick Castle’s Peacock Garden, shortly after all of the day-trippers had departed, and the pair happily posed for pictures with children.
The event was exclusive to overnight guests who had booked the new ‘Zog Play and Stay’ package, which also includes some Zog goodies on top of the standard breakfast, parking and one day’s castle entry.
The castle’s Knight’s Village is in a secluded woodland grove, and is home to 28 fully-equipped lodges (sleeping five or seven) and, during the warmer months, 37 glamping tents (sleeping four plus a cot).
We dined in the Village’s spacious and well-ventilated ‘banqueting hall’ where we enjoyed three courses (roughly £23 adults; £15 children), as well as the visits to our table by medieval characters.
There was also the option of a lavish, all-you-can-eat barbecue (adults £20.95; children £10.95) alongside the River Avon, with vegetarian options and plenty of sides.
Unfortunately, our dinner reservation clashed with a ‘knights school’ but, before the bedtime story, we caught a display of weaponry, which also went down a storm with guests young and old.
But parents be warned: following this show, you WILL have to kit your children out in some form of medieval attire. We got away with just buying a couple of swords, but shields and armour are available!
The swords were on the pricey side but turned out to be money well spent as our trainee knights gleefully bashed the heck out of each other and the pells in the practise arena.
The kids also enjoyed a tricky treasure hunt and the prize for finishing it.
As night fell, and the village took on a magical appearance, it was time to snuggle up in our top-of-the-range King’s Tent, with a comfy four-poster bed for the ‘royal couple’ and singles for our prince and princess.
Rugs, drapes, wooden chests, chandeliers and a terrace with a canopy, thrones and chess table completed the medieval look and we had a peaceful night, the quiet only occasionally broken by the screech of a peacock.
The following morning, after a hearty breakfast, the dragon theme continued as our kids tried to earn a golden star, just like Zog, in a new activity trail at the castle. After learning to fly, roar, breathe fire and capture a princess (sort of) the final challenge saw them join Sir Gadabout’s school for ambitious knights.
The trail was part of a full day’s entertainment which, like the Knight’s Village, scaled new heights!