Horrible Histories at Warwick Castle
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For the past few months, we have been blogger ambassadors for Warwick Castle. I have always loved the attraction and remember going there on school trips as a child. I took my brother and sisters there for a day out when they were younger and now it’s time to introduce our own children to my favourite castle. We decided to head there on Saturday to finish the Easter holidays with a bang.
Horrible Histories maze at Warwick Castle
Last time we visited, I wrote about what to do at Warwick Castle. Unfortunately we totally ran out of time on that visit and missed the Horrible Histories maze. That’s why it was the first thing we headed for on this visit, and we were glad we did.
The Horrible Histories maze is by far the most interactive maze I’ve been in. Instead of just finding their way to the centre, visitors take a book by the entrance and collect stamps on their way around. As well as the stamping machines, there are other relevant artefacts in the maze. You can stand on a set of scales like those that would have been used to see whether women were witches, go into the trenches and stand in the stocks.
The story behind the maze is that the rat has mixed up the time periods. Visitors enter the maze to get lost in time and put them back in order as you go. Of course, on the way around you learn all sorts of interesting facts about each period of time. There’s the terrifying Tudors, frightful First World War, stormin’ Normans, measly Middle Ages, slimy Stuarts and the vicious Vikings.
Horrible Histories live stage show at Warwick Castle
My husband wanted to go to the Horrible Histories live stage show but I have to admit I thought it would be aimed at much older children than ours. But as it turned out, it was incredibly engaging, funny and educational for everybody from tots to adults.
The show took place on a tiny stage by the riverside. Spectators sat on the grass on the hill above the stage so even if there were lots of people in front of you, you still got a great view. There were just two actors who took you on a journey through the history of Warwick Castle. It started from the construction of an earthen rampart on the site in 914 by Ethelfleda, Lady of Mercia and daughter of Alfred the Great. The show went all the way through to the present day and Merlin’s Warwick Castle.
Each era was represented by a short sketch. There was music, jokes aimed at the adults and spoofs of both modern day and historical figures. I was surprised to see Lord Alan Sugar pop up to interview Kingmaker Richard Neville in a particularly hilarious scene.
All four of us thought that the Horrible Histories show was excellent and we’re considering going to watch the full-length show in the West End. We all agreed it was one of our favourite parts of our day.
Other attractions we enjoyed
As always, there was so much to do at Warwick Castle that we didn’t manage to get round all of it. The girls insisted on another visit to the Princess Tower and they loved it just as much as last time. We made it to the Time Tower this time, and caught the end of a Flight of the Eagles show.
We still haven’t made it to the adventure playground, the mound or the turrets. Thankfully we’ll be back in the summer for the Wars of the Roses Live. We’ve promised the playground will be our first stop!
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