23 June 2015
The Year 2 day trip to Warwick Castle was a wonderful day. It started with plenty of sunshine and 20 excited boys arriving with their rations for the day stowed safely in their backpacks. After an hour’s journey, the two mini-buses arrived in good time, the boys were shepherded through the entrance and on into the castle grounds.
The first stop was the stocks… there was no shortage of volunteers to be photographed as a miscreant. Once at the main gate, the boys learnt about the killing zone, murder holes and the biological weapons that were employed on any unwanted attackers! After a snack and comfort break, we were off to ‘The Kingmaker’ exhibition – the boys noticed the different smells that were ‘piped’ in straight away. They were captivated by the displays of leatherworker, smithy, ladies in waiting, shoemaker, mason etc…, the adults hardly had time to think before the next question was fired at them.
After lunch, the boys visited the main hall where they learnt about medieval armour and weapons. This was followed by walking through the rooms of the main residential building where we could compare how different things were in the Victorian and Edwardian times. There were lots of richly decorated rooms with expensive ornaments, clothes, beds and pictures.
At last it was time for the oldest part of the castle – the motte, the site of the first Norman keep. The boys chased the adults to the top, but overtook quite quickly after starting the rout. Once recovered and a quick descent, it was time to watch the Birds of Prey display. The boys were a little apprehensive when the sea eagles swooped overhead.
Our last quest was to scale the ramparts pretending to be defending the castle. There was a never ending supply of imaginary arrows as the creative play developed and then it was up The Two Towers – Guy’s and Caesar’s, that is. We then headed back to our mini-buses and an hour’s rest while our trusty drivers, Sir Steve S and Sir Paul, returned us safely to school.
The boys had an excellent learning experience full of things to see, touch and do. They were a credit to Abingdon Prep.
