Warwick Castle

Having dropped David off at work and reset the GPS Navigator toward Warwick Castle we were off. The main goal for today's trip was to see the Archer and the Falconer and we noted we should have plenty of time to catch at least 1 of each act.

We parked and wandered the long path up to the front gates


Warwick is also known as the "Kingmaker" for any who have played that board game and so we had to go through that special exhibit. It provided for some nice atmostphere. Unfortunately we went through a portion of the display that was 1 way through some narrow dimly lit hallways and they had provided some hands-on stuff for people which was causing a bit of a delay. Something to remember for future trips.

We exited the exhibit into a gift shop and browsed a bit. We noted a couple of big books off to the side which allowed you to research your name to get a family history and coat of arms done. They surprisingly, had Lisa's last name and so she got one done while I checked for my maiden name . .which they also had. Our new printed family histories and coat of arms in hand we rushed to meet the archer's demonstration.

The poor guy asked for a target from the audience and got a small water bottle which he diligently put up and then missed with every arrow he had. But he provided a good show and several laughs. Thanks to Lisa for videoing him.





Next we opted for the 1890's house party exhibit, partly because it can still apply to our American Civil War time period and partly because I knew there was some Civil War era prints framed within.

Not to mention some great furniture.


And then we saw a framed painting of Queen Victoria with the small crown that we had seen in the Crown Jewels exhibit at the Tower of London


That being mostly enjoyed we were off to make the 2:30 showing of the falconer. We were somewhat early and so we took the opportunity to go through the Peacock Gardens.

Where there was quite a big of plumage on display


The falconer didn't disappoint. He started with Ernie who is a young (6 month old) owl and watch poor Ernie get dive-bombed by a sparrow hawk.



The sparrow hawk was NOT part of the scheduled show but would make relatively frequent appearances.

After Ernie was Sidney. Sidney is always impressive as she is a Bald Eagle.


Watch the sparrow hawk think about taking a swipe at Sidney before changing it's mind.




After Sidney came the vulture. He didn't feel like doing too much of anything for the day, but then again, we were assured that vultures are relatively lazy birds by nature. But we were also encouraged to "look lively" so the vulture didn't make an mistakes as to it's food source.


After the vulture came the new addition to the show, the Stellar Sea Eagle, Nikita. She was impressive to watch for not only her beauty but her sheer size. We were informed that she has an 8' wingspan and weighs 17lbs. Needless to say, the Falconer did not allow Nikita to perch on his arm at any time during the performance.



After having seen the falconer, it was time to go and so we made our way toward the main gate. Of course we couldn't leave without visiting the Victorian Gardens briefly.


With that, we were back on our way to pick up David from work and stop by the local fish and chips place for dinner.

Yummy!!

For all the pictures we took at Warwick, please view the following slideshow: