Kenilworth Castle

Well, it's Lisa's first full day here so the question becomes what to take her to see. David was unable to join us as he needed to be at work so that left Lisa and I to expore the countryside ourselves. Since I'm still relatively new to driving in this Country, I opted for the castle that captured my imagination when I was here in 2006 as Lisa's first castle exploration - Kenilworth.



Having dropped David off at work and returning to the house to pick up our guest for her first full outing, we hopped on the motorway and headed off to Warwickshire. I'll admit that I still rely heavily on the GPS Navigator system to get me to my final destination and that threw a wrench in the works when we got to the area of the castle and ran into "road diversion" signs. After navigating my way through traffic and following the signs to the best of my ability, we found ourselves at the castle . . and what a breathtaking sight it was!




Now, at this point I must admit that I've seen a lot of castles in my time here and they are all breathtaking, but there is something about Kenilworth that draws me back to it. I describe it as being "hauntingly beautiful".

Perhaps the draw is that it belonged to Lord Robert Dudley as he attempted to keep Queen Elizabeth entertained . .

Perhaps it is that Kenilworth's Great Hall is believed to be the location where Henry V received the famed tennis balls from France setting off his ire for a war with that country . .

Perhaps it is that the great size of the kitchens can still be seen today despite the ruins . .

Perhaps it is that the Norman keep still stands a formidable sentry.

Perhaps it is the breathtaking country view from the walls . .

Or perhaps I'm associating with my Civil War persona as I note that the ruins were a popular place for Victorians to visit and "make their mark" although this picture shows graffiti from 1753. .

With all those spectacular reasons to visit the Castle to begin with, imagine my surprise to find one more .. They are recreating the Queen's gardens as they may have been in Queen Elizabeth's time.

Whatever the reason, Lisa agreed that this was a wonderful castle for her to cut her teeth on. She enjoyed touching the great keep, built around 1100 and noting the difference between history and HISTORY.

It never ceases to amaze me the difference history makes on a place and a people. Especially these great castles who were built for wars at 1100, built upon to make them into homes for nobles and then destroyed during the English Civil War. All of that history passed before the USA was a country . . WOW.

For all the pictures taken both in 2006 and in this past visit, please click play on the following slideshow.