Warwick Castle

For our final trip of the year we decided to spend a few days at the Club’s Warwick Racecourse site as our pre-Christmas trip. Previously we had stayed at Chatsworth and Longleat in December because of their Christmas events.  Although we have been to Warwick before we have never visited the Castle which we did on the first day of our stay. The Castle is not too far from the site but is uphill, as most things seem to be as you get older! You use what is called the Town entrance which saves a long walk around to the main way in but is tucked away behind the High Street. On arrival we decided to have a coffee which turned out to be a wise move as the heavens opened whilst we were in the café! The best way to buy tickets for the Castle is online before your visit as buying then at the gate is quite expensive. The Club have an online offer which saves a useful amount. 

Fortunately the rain had stopped as we made our way in to the Castle. It was built by that prolific castle builder William the Conqueror in 1068. It was the home of the Greville family (Earls of Warwick) for 374 years until they sold it to the Tussauds Group who since that point have run it as a tourist attraction. You can climb the battlements if you wish. We tried but found the tight circular stair cases quite wet and slippy. We toured the Great Hall and Staterooms some of which have some interesting wax tableaux, well I suppose they would have being owned by Tussauds! There seem to be some nice gardens as well but the weather was not really in our favour to allow further exploration. We made our way into the town. Warwick has some attractive buildings, including half-timbered ones, although these are not always complimented by their modern equivalents! 

The next day the weather had refused to brighten up but at least it was dry if dull. We headed for Royal Leamington Spa. There are a couple of buses that run every half hour from Warwick Bus Station. We got off near to Jepson Gardens which is opposite the Pump House. The Springs were known to the Romans but it was not until the late 1700’s that they were developed for commercial purposes. The town has a wonderful array of grand Regency buildings  and the main shopping street is called The Parade. Leamington I think will be worth a second visit but perhaps when there is a chance of better and brighter weather. 

If you prefer to leave your car or motorhome on site the local public transport is quite good with regular services to Coventry and Stratford upon Avon. The office also has details of walks from the site so no shortage of things to do. 

We had a lazy last day on site as it was quite wet in readiness to make our way home the following day.