Day#3, 1/13/2012

Today as a group we went to see Kenilworth Castle, Coventry Cathedral and Warwick Castle.

I was excited to see Kenilworth Castle, particularly because of its use in the Elizabethan era. I was interested in see what was left of the gardens that had been designed and made for Queen Elizabeth by her favorite. When our classmate and Vince talked about it, I was sadness when they stated that parts of it were dismantled so that it could not be used during the World War and it made me wonder what state it was in. When the castle was finally in view it was indeed just a skeleton of the original, but it still held some of its past glory and prestige in its remaining tall stone towers. I was looking forward to walking through the ruins and was some what upset when I found out we were not going inside the gates.

Next we arrived at Coventry Cathedral. To me, it seemed to be right in the middle of Coventry University, such was also interesting to see. The old stone structure of the original cathedral caught my attention immediately, I actually did not notice the rebuilt modern cathedral until it was pointed out to me. The remains of the original cathedral, to this day, showed the devastating destruction that occur to it during the blitz. The tall tower that remained standing seemed incomplete, a small shadow, and reminded to what the cathedral once was. I enjoyed the tour of the two structures, old and rebuilt, each had its own unique gifts to their worshippers, but overall I would have picked the old to stay and listen to a full service in. I pick the ruins because it makes me think that even with just ruins remaining, after the blitz, citizens still prayed, still asked for forgiveness and still had faith.

We finally made it to Warwick Castle, I had heard that it was a nice castle to visit but was not prepared for all that it had when I started to explore. There was something to see everywhere I went. I go trapped climbing the towers, which never seemed to end, yet I did take time to take a picture of the view in and around the castle, which made up for some of the pain climbing all those stairs. I accidentally viewed the history of the castle, presented by manikins, backwards-starting in the Victorian era. I wanted to stop at every manikin and listen to their story, discover the history of the rooms, nevertheless there was not enough time. I was able to run through everything once, learning that battles had been fought there and that it had been owned by a number of high-status people, whom had made changed to the property and had held lavish parties. I wish I had had more time to look at the paintings closer, the ones near the armory room. I recognized some of them, including Anne, Charles II, William II, Princes of Wales and of course Henry VIII and his wives at the end of the hall. When I come back to visit England, I plan on visiting Warwick Castle again and dedicating a whole day to learn more of its history.