Monday 10 September 2012

Ten on the Tenth: Warwick Weekend

I was hoping that another weekend away would get me a few more things crossed off my list for Rinda's Scavenger Hunt and Warwick did not disappoint!

First off there was Warwick Castle itself.

Photo - Warwick Castle
 #6 - Historical Landmark
The beautiful Peacock Gardens within the grounds had something else I was looking for:

Photo - Fountain in the Peacock Garden, Warwick Castle
 #9 - A Fountain
While we tried to take decent photos of the very tame peacocks strutting about the garden we noticed that two photographers were taking lots and lots and lots of photos of a romantic couple ... "A real life bride!!!" I thought, even though she was dressed in a rather un-typical turquoise evening dress ...

Photo - engaged couple
... but it turned out that she was actually a Bride-to-be and they were doing a pre-shoot in advance of November's wedding {Yes, I did ask!!}  We kept seeing them around the grounds in several different ensembles and poses and eventually spotted them twirling for the cameras:

Photo - Dancing Couple
 #15 - Someone Dancing
That photo was taken from high above the happy couple because we'd climbed up and up and up the mound where the original castle was constructed using several of these:

Photo - Outdoor staircase
#19 - Outdoor Staircase
We also climbed the tallest tower of the castle to enjoy the views and we spotted something unusual in the distance ...
Photo - View from Warwick Castle

Could it be?  Once we returned home I studied Google maps and did my research  to confirm that this was indeed Gurdwara Sahib which is a Royal Leamington Spa's enormous Sikh temple.

Photo - Gurdwara Sahib from Warwick Castle
# 17 - A Temple {and that's a Church spire on the left!}
Warwick is pretty compact and I counted six churches on our wanderings - it seemed like there was one on every corner - so I did have a backup if the white pavilion had turned out to be the spa at Leamington or a themed amusement park!

Inside the castle there were several interesting exhibitions with a great cast of wax, animatronic and real live figures.  We learned how to rip people's tongues out with red-hot implements, admired the destructive powers of various arrow heads, gasped at the cost of a military horse (think Porsche in today's prices), and learned all about the Duchess of Devonshire's famous entertaining, some of which took place here:

Photo - Library at Warwick Castle
#8 - A Library
There were lots of activities laid on for families as it was the last weekend of the school summer holidays.  This gave me a chance to snap another one for the hunt - unfortunately the crowds were too big, the queues were too long and our feet were too tired for the juggler to be either me or mine!

Photo - Someone having a go at juggling
#14 - Someone Playing With A Ball
We had a super time in Warwick; I wish we'd made it there when the children were smaller, they'd have had a lot of fun too. Child No. 3 also thought it was great but gave the biggest thumbs up, not to the demonstrations of the enormous trebuchet (my original hope for #14), but to the splendid jousting show which featured ... several more horses!

Photo - Jousting at Warwick Castle
An extra go at #9 - More horses
Mel managed her entire Scavenger Hunt within a week.  I'm pretty chuffed that I managed to get a third of my items (and it could have been several more) within a weekend. The astute amongst you will notice that there are ten photos here too ... so that'll be why I've hooked up with Shimelle's Ten on the Tenth as well!

19 comments:

Lisa-Jane said...

We loved Warwick Castle too!

Irene said...

What a great collection of photographs and clever you linking them up to the 10 on the 10th! This was a trip down memory lane for me as I used to visit Warwick frequently back in the day when they had the Assize, though I don't remember the Sikh temple... long time ago!
Love the opulence of the library photograph.

Mary B said...

"We learned how to rip people's tongues out with red-hot implements,"

that sounds gruesome :(

the rest of it is awesome well done you.

Sian said...

A pre-shoot for a wedding? Gosh, it seems very complicated these days..

It certainly looks like a successful and enjoyable day out. Perfect.

Sarah said...

Great photos!! The castle looks a fab place!! Thanks for visiting our blog! x

Tammy said...

Great photos! Looks like a fabulous day. What a fun place for a wedding or pre-wedding photo shoot! Great way to cross off so many items from the scavenger hunt list! :)

Kirsty.A said...

Well done. If you check my 10 Things post you'll see I love killing 2 birds with 1 stone. These are great photos too

Maria Ontiveros said...

Wow! What a great day for scavenging! I especially love the horses and the balls (I don't think there's been a juggler yet).
Rinda

CoventryAnn said...

So near to me, and yet I've only been to the castle once... must go again.

Beverly said...

Love your bride, I had already decided that I was going to interpret that as bride to be lol I love the aerial shot of them :)

ComfyMom~Stacey said...

That sounds like a fun place. My boys would love the exhibits!

Missus Wookie said...

Oh we went to Warwick when my two were much younger - Wookie loved the engineering/mill, Ewok the archery and weapons and Princess the jousting... especially the horses. Thanks for the memories :)

I had several brides to be as well - began to wonder if they wouldn't count :lol:

Clever to link up to Shimelle's ten on the tenth too. Managed to make my list 'what I do/want when I'm feeling yucky' :rofl:

helena said...

what a good haul. and so useful to know how to rip out tongues!

Angela Toucan said...

I love Warwick Castle. You have some great photos there.

Abi said...

congratulations on getting some more photos for the hunt. My best friend is at uni in Warwick. I think we may need to follow your example and have a proper look around the castle next time I visit!

Miss Smith said...

Oooh, I want to go! It looks lovely and the twirling pictures are really pretty and unusual.

Sandie said...

That's somewhere I have never been. Glad you got some more shots for the scavenger hunt. I have some of jousting too :)

Alison said...

Great set of pics Jemma...imagine having to have a PRE shoot for a wedding?!
Alison xx

Julene Matthews said...

Now I want to go to England again.