England Part III: Warwick Castle and Stratford-Upon-Avon

So our final day in England was spent at Warwick Castle (about a 45 minute drive from Worcester). You can't go to England without going to a castle right! I had been there before, but probably not for 20 years. It was a little colder and rained on and off but it was nice enough to be able to be outside and not too miserable.

We got to walk around all the different sections of the castle - the original castle was built in the 11th century and various sections have been added on since. Everything from knights in shining armour to Victorian dinner parties.

That helmet was way heavier than it looked!

You can walk along the battlements and to the top of a couple of the towers and you got a great view of the castle grounds and the surrounding country.

View of the castle



View from the tower - despite the rain it was busy

 We missed most of the birds of prey show as it was our time to go into the dungeons. I hate having people jump out at me in the dark so I was a little on edge but it was fun down there. Luckily (or not) neither of us got picked on to be part of any of the show! The birds were kept in the falconry when they weren't in the show which was part of the castle grounds that far fewer people went to.



A little bit of America in Warwickshire



The castle from the other side of the river


Once we were done at the castle, my parents came to pick us up with the dogs and we went to Stratford-Upon Avon (just down the road). We were planning on taking the dogs for a nice walk by the river but the rain had got worse by then so it ended up being a quick circuit around the town, past the Royal Shakespeare Company theatre and back to the car. Unfortunately one of the dogs had a bad tummy and had a rather messy accident in the street which was both hilarious and hugely embarrassing!



Mr Shakespeare and the theatre in the background



Christmas in Stratford-Upon-Avon

 That evening we had a delicious dinner at home along with games with the family before the early flight home in the morning. Luckily there was no one next to us on the flight to Newark and Matt was able to get on the same flight as me from Newark to Albany so everything worked out quite nicely. It was a great Christmas and trip home. I think everyone had a great time. Off to Texas in the morning so more updates soon.