Today was primarily a travel day to get us closer to the ferry that will take us to Ireland. We leave behind another great hotel with a fabulous shower, and head toward the township of Warwick in the shire of Warwickshire. Our destination is the marvellous Warwick Castle, like many of its contemporaries it is steeped with history.

One might wonder how on earth the lure of a new castle, or potentially a castle that I have the chance to rediscover again can hold any appeal, I know that many don’t share my absolute enthusiasm for this. For me, there is an incredible romance attached to these amazing strongholds, where the sacrifices of many have often been responsible for creating places of great beauty. For me visiting a castle is like being teleported back in time and I get a sense of the bravery and passion of the people who have lived within these walls, yes  I do love a good (or even pretty average) castle. 

Warwick Castle was not a disappointment, it had grand dining rooms, fabulous turrets and a turbulent history which saw it being rebuilt four times. To add to the spectacle we were able to see the Ernie the Owl and Bruce the Blue Chilean Eagle in action. 

Warwick castle was originally built in 1068 by William the Conqueror, which is kind of fascinating as these guys really seemed to move around. But even before that an Anglo-Saxon burg (medieval fortress or walled town) was established by Ethelfleda on the site of the castle way back in 914. It is pretty rare in my pretty limited experience of United Kingdom history for a woman to be responsible for something like this – it appears that Ethelfleda was someone to be reckoned with – cool!  I do find the history of the United Kingdom to be absolutely fascinating, with Richard Neville the King maker often making an appearance, as well as the dastardly Richard III who was the uncle of the young princes who he locked in the Tower of London and were never seen again. From where I am sitting everything and everyone is so interlinked its extraordinary. 

I have so much to say about this wonderful place, it is certainly a place I would highly recommend to visit.  The walk through the towers was really enjoyable, and whilst some of the attractions were I guess mediocre the castle itself is pretty terrific.   

             After leaving Warwick we made our way to the walled city of Chester, sadly as it is winter by the time we arrive at just after four, it is dark and rainy so we can’t see the Castle 😪 which was the home of William the Conquerors nephew “Wolf”, or get a real sense of the walls that were built centuries ago and that remain in place. There is a wonderful cathedral that a few of our group did get to (including 32) but I was transfixed by the sparkling Christmas lights and the allure of the shops where I could escape the rain (yep I was a bit of a princess this afternoon!).    

 From the wonderful city of Chester we have made our way to Caernarfon, Gwyneed in Wales – our resting place for this evening the Celtic Royal Hotel. My day has now officially been made, not only by the layout and design of this hotel but the fact that when we went down to the bar of this lovely establishment Christmas Carols were playing and these continued whilst I ate fresh salmon and salad with chat potatoes – yummy! 

An early morning tomorrow as we head by very to Ireland, sadly we are expecting a tough crossing as the weather has “turned”.