Sunday, July 23, 2006

19 July 2006: Warwick Castle

The Penultimate Promenade: Warwick Castle

God knows how much I wanted to go to this place. I have been recommending to friends to visit the Castle without knowing what they have to offer. We almost went in once, but decided to spend the special moment together with Atuk and Nanny.

Then, when they came, Babah almost took them on Monday, the day I went to London alone. But I pleaded I wanted to come along too and Atuk was feeling under the weather. So, they kindly arranged to visit Warwick Castle on Wednesday, 19 July 2006.

Unfortunately, Amar was very poorly. He has been vomiting every time after feed. So, it was best for him to rest at home. And who else must look after him other than me, the bonda? No, I'm not complaining. I'm a strong believer of sick children must stay in and rest. And I didn't mind looking after poorly Amar at all. Just a little disappointed, I couldn't be with Atuk and Nanny on their last day in the UK.





The Entrance

I was so glad to hear they had so much fun at Warwick Castle. The entrance fees were a little bit excessive, but the experience was worth every penny they have paid.































Gatehouse & Barbican
The heavily fortified entrance to the castle including a drawbridge.

Currently, they have demonstration of archery and trebuchet, a machine to fire huge projectiles to breach the Castle walls.


The Guy's Tower
I believe this tower must have served as the castle's defensive system, because it is projected above and out from the wall. It gave archers a clear view downwards and sideways.


They managed to enter the Guy's Tower via the steep steps (you can see from the background and the previous photo) guarded by not so child-friendly handrail. They saw for themselves the inner of the 39m tall tower that has five storeys and of twelve sided.


Caesar's Tower
A masterpiece of a 14th century military architecture. A cloverleaf shape tower that has a dungeon beneath it and a hexagonal guardhouse above.


Chapel, Great Hall & State Rooms
Must have been the heart of the Castle. These parts have been rebuilt, altered and extended due to fire or just to lavishly entertain the noblest of guests and to display the family's most prestigious possessions.


The Royal Weekend Party Room
This room witnessed a party in 1898 hosted by Daisy, Countess of Warwickat which the principal guest was the Prince of Wales.


Daisy's Bedroom
Daisy's exquisite evening gown and the lavish decoration of her bedroom was recreated from photographs of Daisy ancestral home.

Great Hall
Most of the furnishings and fittings are those that were actually here in 1898. Photographs taken at the time mean that it has been possible to put every chair, table and book in exactly the place it occupied more than100 years ago.


The Mill & Engine House
Many hundred years ago, the mill and engine house used the power of River Avon to grind grain. Then a century ago, that same hydro power was harnessed to generate electricity for the household.

Conservatory and Peacock Garden
I believe Sarah loved the peacock so much. Until today, she sometimes mentions "Big bird" that she saw at the castle.



Victorian Rose Garden
This photo was taken at a very precise geometry proportions of the beds and the garden's informal, almost secretive setting garden designed by Robert Marnock sometime in 1868.

The garden has once 'disappeared' during the second World War. Luckily the original drawing by Marnock survived so the plot was brought back to life in 1986.


They spent almost the whole day at the Castle under the blazing hot sun. They arrived home all looking sunburnt. Poor Atuk and Nanny. Those in Malaysia might hardly believe they have just visited the UK. Fortunately, we have all the photos to proof they were here, right?

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear Nisak,

Your superb naration of the place, it's history and explicit details make you sound like a local-born!

Mama Sarah said...

dith you must be pulling my leg!

i saw the 1 comment, and thought: entah2 a spam comment with this message: your english language is terrible; visit our website for free tutorials.

pycnogenol said...

I concur with DITH. This is indeed one superb narration....and to think that it comes from one who was not actually there on the trip.

Mynn must have surely given a crystal clear, and all so vivid a narration of the castle to the narrator. ;)

dith said...

Pycno-

Probably it was Sarah who gave Mama all the inspiration to write: "Saghah ampak ikok antik ulu anjang..."

Which reminds me of my own Sarah who was also pelat at that age and she used to say this : "Tucing Kitam"

Ajzie said...

Salam MamaSarah
Lama Ajzie tak datang sini. Busy lah..Ruginya saya terlepas 4-5 N3. Anyway saya akan cuba baca..coz saya suka gambar2 yg MamaSarah post disini..

Izhal said...

man, nice pictures!!! like the japs, the english lords are also paranoid of attacks on their 'humble abode'... tu yang dinding tebal2 tu kot...

never been to UK, hopefully one of these days i could go...

Jamil said...

Sometimes I think you're a mix of both ikelah and DITH.

Hati-hati puan doktor. Saingan puan sudah tiba. Jeng jeng jeng ~

But really, loved the lovely pictures.

Mama Pongkey said...

Did the peacocks beg you for food? :D

Orangkilang said...

Sounds suspiciously like from a brochure or guide book... hmmm

Mama Sarah said...

Pycno & DITH this is getting out of hand. jgnlah sindir camtu sekali. there's a website called dictionary.com. i use it a lot.

Ajzie segan saya baca perkataan "busy" tu. nampak sgt saya ni tak de kerja lain.

izhal tak cuak sikit pun. i'm sure sooner or later, you akan sampai sini jugak. the least kena present paper kan?

Mama Sarah said...

hiyoshi wuish, you can't compare an apple to buah limau. Ikelah has the right gadget. We own a humble 3 years old Sony DSC P8.

and have you read DITH's latest entry? "ambivalently challenged"? I'm nowhere near her standard of parlance.

KKL according to Sarah (i've just asked her) the peacock she saw didn't beg for food. But she tried to offer something, "pastu, Saghah nangish..."

OK aaahhh???

Bbyyyy, tak ckp pun you beli guide book. penat je i perah otak for this entry.

(alo Sir OK, you have to learn more from DITH, Pycno and Hiyoshi lah. Tengok pandai je diaorang cover2 line. Btw, my lines were not from any brochure nor a guide book. heh heh)

dyanna said...

Sarah.. the only "Big Bird" that Auntie Diyana knows is the 7 feet tall bird with yellow feathers all over its body and walk on two legs. His best friend is Snuffy the Snufflelophagus (hai betul ke eja mcm ni?)... glad that got to know a more realistic "Big Bird"... because the yellow one is scary if it was seen in real life, lagi nak nangish kot? ... :P

Mama Sarah.. fatut la ana tidak nampak ente dlm itu foto lah. Ente duduk itu rumah jaga sama Amar lah..
Well, it's a reason to bring Sarah back to the castle again I guess? Cepat, summer is closing in.. (baru august daa..)

Anonymous said...

Speaking about being sunburnt, I remember someone saying to me: "Mat saleh datang sini nak berjemur, kita beria2 nak gi sana sebab tak nak panas!" Hehe..

mynn said...

the peacocks were amazing - because they were at first high above tall fir trees, cawing. and then we made some noise underneath the trees then they suddenly flew right to the garden. masa tu sarah terkejut tu... we ran after the peacock into the garden and there was this kind middle aged man who was feeding one of the peacocks (there were around 5 of them). he saw sarah & gave one of the almonds for sarah to feed the bird.

sarah pun hulur tangan with the almond to the bird, bila bird tu nak patuk je dia lepaskan atas tanah. <-- this happened 3 times. takut dia kat "big bird" tu.

Mama Sarah said...

Che Ya ya lah ana duduk rumah lah. Amar muntah2 lah.

crimsonskye haha.. yealah. tapi now is summer. just the wrong season to stay fair.

mynn thanks for your contribution. At first, I wanted to copy your tabblo entry. biasalah i kan, dok copycat je.

Anonymous said...

Sian Kak Nisak kena tinggal. Tak ape lah next time boleh pegi la ye. Ke dah nak balik Msia dah? ;)

Anonymous said...

Diyana: Hmm kalau ade pon, Kak Nisak mmg takkan letak gambar die dlm blog die, kalau nak kena tgk kat Muhaimin punye blog. Kan Kak Nisak? hehe

Mama Sarah said...

naja ya betul naja. never letak gmbar dlm this blog. SELAGI BOLEH lah. kalau rupa macam kak siti tu, boleh tahanlah nak pamerkan.

tapi, tak payahlah nak beritahu org pi tgk blog muhaimin pulak. isykh... kalau ya pun, biarlah Rahsia. tak gitu peminat no.1 kak siti kita?

Ajzie said...

MamaSarah
Gelak saya sendiri, awak cakap mcm tuh.. Busy saya tuh bukan busy mana pun..Busy jalan2 aje..hihi. Exam dah habis dah.

Mama Sarah said...

AJzie eh belum tidur lagi ke?

Anonymous said...

mama sarah, sekali kalau i masuk your blog, kalau tak spend at least 1/2 hour reading & lookin' at those gorgeous pics, mmg x sah. Membahayakan kesihatan betul

Mama Sarah said...

anonymous i take that as a compliment. tapi kalau terganggu kesihatan, silalah makan paracetamol 2 biji.

i wonder siapa ni ya?

Anonymous said...

alamak mama sarah! anon tu anne lar. my blogger ni kurang asam sikit lar!

MummY_Nie said...

a very beautiful place indeed. masa kecik dulu gi tempat tuh tersesat ke cellar...seram