DAY 318 Sunday 20th JULY 2008

Eastbourne, East Sussex (Miles to Date: 33600)

Warwick Castle sits on a cliff overlooking a bend in the River Avon. Warwick Castle, and like Kenilworth Castle, was built by William the Conqueror in 1068. It was used as a fortification until the early 17th century, when Sir Fulke Greville converted it to a country house. It was owned by the Greville family, who became earls of Warwick in 1759, until 1978.

From 1088, the castle traditionally belonged to the Earl of Warwick, and it served as a symbol of his power. The castle was taken in 1153 by Henry of Anjou, later Henry II, when the Countess of Warwick was tricked into handing over the castle. It was again briefly lost in 1264, following a surprise attack during the Second Barons' War. It has been used to hold prisoners, including some from the Battle of Poitiers in the 14th century. Under the ownership of Richard Neville – also known as "Warwick the Kingmaker" – Warwick Castle was used in the 15th century to imprison the English king, Edward IV. Warwick Castle has been compared with Windsor Castle in terms of scale, cost, and status.

Visiting the castle at a weekend in July is somewhat fraught as there are crowds of tourists from all over the world. On the plus side there are a whole host of different activities scheduled for the day. Before we set about exploring the castle itself there is a demonstration set in the grounds for a giant Trebuchet. This is a medieval siege weapon that was used to fire various projectile at or into the castles or fortifications that were under siege. The projectiles themselves varied from rocks and Greek fire to decaying corpses of people of animals (intended to spread fear and disease – yuk!) The Warwick Trebuchet is the largest in the world at 18m (60 feet high) and weighs 220 tonnes, and fires the projectiles 25m (80 feet) into the air and out to 300m (1000 feet). A huge beast! The Trebuchet is based on a counter-balance weight, which has to be primed, which basically means using a large man-powered wheel to winch in the weight. It takes a few minutes to do the priming and in the mean time we are entertained by a commentator who tells us about the history of trebuchet as a weapon in the middle ages to and what was going on with the preparations. Finally all was set and we waited with baited breadth – and then we had the obligatory count – then the release. The counter weight releases against the tension of the winch and the trebuchets arm springs forward, almost in slow motion and the projectile is released from the bucket and flies out 1000 feet before thudding into the ground. Very impressive and all conceived and built (this particular trebuchet is only few years old) over 700 years ago.

With the excitement of the trebuchet behind us we climb the hill up to the castle. Unlike the ruins of Kenilworth Castle this castle has been well preserved, primarily due to the fact that this was used as residence for many years. As well as preserving the exterior elements of the castle the interiors are wonderful and full of artefacts across the centuries. We pass through the Great Hall which is the largest room in the castle. Here there are countless pikes, sword, daggers and other medieval weapons creatively displayed as sinister wall designs. Jack and Emily are particularly taken by the knight in armour mounted on an equally armoured horse that stands in the middle of the Great Hall. One of the more interesting exhibits is a statue of the face of the Oliver Cromwell, the leaders of the Parliamentarians in the English Civil War. The statue was cast from the death mask, which was commonly done in those days, of Cromwell so it a true impression of the man's visage.

The journey continues through the castle to Chapel and then into the State Rooms. These rooms have been restored and their stories are further embellished by tableaux of wax mannequins (Warwick Castle is owned by Madam Tussauds’) showing the nobility and famous politicians (such as Winston Churchill) who have graced Warwick with their presence throughout the years. As with all Madam Tussaud's wax impressions the detail is amazing, making the figures almost come alive. The decorations of the rooms are stunning, many of them are the originals items of these State rooms.

Always a great favourite of the children is the dungeon, and we were not disappointed. The steps down are step and uneven and this entrance is not for those with claustrophobia but at the bottom awaits instruments of torture and holes 6 ft deep and a 3 ft wide where prisoners were incarcerated for months if not years (shiver!). Not wanting to get trapped down here we quickly retreat to the surface and into the The Kingmaker attraction which recreates the mid fifteenth century world of

Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, Kingmaker. This covers the period of the Wars of the Roses, which were a prolonged struggle, starting in the early 1450s and ending at the battle of Bosworth in 1485, for supremacy between the Houses of York and Lancaster. During this time, Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick from 1449 - 1471 became known as 'The Kingmaker'. Neville's family connections made him a Yorkist. The exhibits use a combination of actors and animated wax figures to show the common people in preparation for the battles and the family links between the Houses of York and Lancaster. Some of the scenes are dimly illuminated so it could be a bit frightening for young children

We felt relieved to get back outside at the end of the Kingmaker exhibit and we were just in time to catch a demonstration of the medieval fighting arts in the main courtyard. Jack just loves this sort of thing ever since he read the Lord of the Rings and was fascinated by the weapons and their effectiveness and killing power – it is a boy thing! As the show drew to a close we made a dash to the stairs that lead to the battlements. Here a trail leads you along curtain walls of the castle from where the archers and crossbow men would defend their Lord and Country. The children just love to pretend being soldiers defending the castles, looking out through the narrow slit windows and imagining the enemy approached far below. The curtain walls lead to the two main 14^th Century towers of the castle, the12 sided Guy’s Tower standing at 128ft tall and the clover shaped Caesar’s Tower at 144 feet. Both require climbing uneven spiral stone staircases, both Karen and Mark are out of breath by the time they get to the top but the views across the medieval town of Warwick and the surrounding countryside are spectacular in the extreme. Luckily the journey down is less tiring but still made difficult by the tricky staircases.

To finish our day before heading south we sit down on the lawn by river to watch a good old Medieval jousting tournament. As is always the case there are two sides, one made up of the good knights who are chivalrous and proud (a.k.a boring) and the bad knights who cheat and fight dirty (a.k.a. good fun). The routine is very much like watching a wrestling match with “Carry On” humour thrown in for good measure. It is good wholesome family viewing. Perhaps there is a case for an X rated version for the hardcore jousters out there. Anyways ,after charging up and down, being knocked off their horses and beating each other with swords and maces the outcome is ……. surprise, surprise a draw! Never mind they all lived to fight another day.

Our day in Warwick is done and we head South towards Eastbourne on the South Coast to pick Laura up from college. We plan to stay overnight in Eastbourne but drive to pickup Laura from Brighton, it also our chance to attend her year end college celebration when they give out certificates to all the students for their achievements throughout the year. Being a College for children with special educational needs this is an important opportunity to recognise what they have been working on throughout the year. Laura gets several certificates and like the rest of the students she is so proud of herself, and we are proud of her! The finale of the celebration is a concert given by a number of the students – which turns out to be a real hoot, we have not laughed so much for a long time. One of our favourite acts is a group of young people who perform “Final Countdown”. They mumble their way through the lyrics but soon as they get to the chorus and the words “Final Countdown” they bounce excitedly around the stage and the words ring out as clear as a bell. It is hilarious.

Whilst staying in Eastbourne we take a short drive along the coast to the seaside town of Brighton. This lively University town is the San Francisco of Britain, not because it has a red bridge but is a major centre for the gay community. It is also where Laura goes to college. We have come here to meet Karen’s cousins Simon and Lynne Truelove and their son Callum. As we are by the sea we decided to join in with another great British tradition and have fish and chip suppers along the seafront. There are, as you might expect ,a large number of “chippies” to chose from but we chose that other great British institution- Harry Ramsdens. The food was great, the beer wonderful and it set our constitutions to survival mode which made it possible for us to brave a visit to the beach.