Kenilworth Castle, Warwickshire

Kenilworth is host to one of England’s most spectacular castles that once stood at the heart of a vast hunting ground and surrounded by a huge man-made lake, it represented a rich prize to the generations of great men who owned and embellished it – among them are John of Gaunt, Henry V and Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester. Join us as we walk the grounds where love was never reciprocated, a six month siege created history and the castle that went from medieval mighty fortress to a romantic Elizabethan palace.

In it’s beginnings, It’s thought that the castle has stood at Kenilworth in Warwickshire since the Saxon times. It’s more than likely that the original structure was destroyed during the wars between the Saxon King Edmund and Canute, the king of the Danes. Following the Norman conquest, Kenilworth became the property of the crown, in 1129 King Henry I gave it to his chamberlain, a Norman noble named Geoffrey de Clinton, who was both the treasurer and the chief justice of England at the time. But shortly after 1129, Geoffrey had founded an Augustinian priory and built a castle in Kenilworth, the original structure would have started out as a typical modest motte and bailey timber castle, you can still see the large earthen mound that formed the base of the motte.

Once you’ve parked up, you can visit the English heritage shop, were there are friendly faces to help you discover the castle and tell you some of the routes you can take. You make your way inside and you’ll walk across a raised way, which was originally a dam and an access road, the marshy lands to our left and right used to be two huge man-made lakes which were used as a first defence to the castle. The lakes that surrounded the fortress were also a place where plenty of fish and wildfowl would have been, which would have then been caught, prepared and cooked in the extensive castle kitchens.

Later though as a consequence of the English Civil War the lakes were intentionally drained by one of Cromwell’s men, Colonel Hawksworth, this was an act of intentional damage, this attempt of slighting was to prevent the castle to be used as a stronghold during future uprisings.

Of all of the medieval castles of England, I have to say, I think Kenilworth is close to a new favourite of mine with it’s stunning local red sandstone oozing at you as you enter and the ruins of the castle becoming bigger and more impressive as you wander towards them. On it’s first approach you’ll notice how vast the castle is, how imposing and mighty this fortress is and once was.

The gardens here at Kenilworth really are exceptional, the private garden was created for Queen Elizabeth I and her visit to Kenilworth, this garden was only to be visited by her and her closest companions, although that didn’t stop George Gascoigne, an important English poet and soldier, who disguised himself as a gardener to sneak in to find inspiration for his latest literature ‘The Princely Pleasures at Kenilworth Castle’.

If you get the chance to look up close you will see that the fountain takes shape with two Atlas like figures who are holding up and supporting a sphere that shoots out jets of water. Other things that Robert noted were about the garden being divided into quarters with patterns of geometrical design of planting. There isn’t that much to go off exactly what flowers would have been planted, but it’s speculated that fashionable flowers such as carnations, pinks, wallflowers and stocks that would have been flourished everywhere.

Our visit today has been absolutely fantastic, we really enjoyed a day out exploring the majestical site of Kenilworth castle and hope you did too. It’s worth noting how busy this castle gets, so be like us and plan your journey early to get the best views from the towers and leisurely strolls in the gardens, they have toilets, two museums with history and artefacts worth looking at and a café with plenty of benches throughout the site so you can sit and enjoy the views.