Warwick Castle

Saturday we took the chance to escape the London crowds and headed up to Warwick Castle, about an hour and a half by train north-west of London. After an initial hiccup (our Lonely Planet said we could catch the train from Paddington, when we could only catch it from Marylebone) we were speeding through the green English countryside on our way to the lovely town of Warwick and its imposing castle.

Warwick Castle was built in the xxth century, and has been used for a variety of purposes since then, from fortress to country house. The Tussauds group (of Madame Tussauds fame) have filled parts of the castle with waxworks, furniture and artefacts depicting these two extremes, from preparations for battle in the 1600s to a summer party in 1899. Combined with the spectacular structures of the walls you get a great feel for what the place must have been like.

The other great thing about visiting Warwick was the countryside and the grounds. The view from the ramparts was fantastic, and beyond the walls we were very excited to get somewhere were we couldn’t see any big buildings and couldn’t hear any cars, and (thanks to it being the middle of winter) didn’t have too many people around – particularly welcome after two weeks in the city.