This past weekend I went with my flatmate to an area of England known as the Midlands. This is located, not surprisingly, in the middle part of the country. We took the train to a small town called Kenilworth which is best known for the ruins of the large castle with the same name. We didn't actually go into the castle as it is mostly in ruins and you get the same view from outside. It really is a huge castle which looks much different than the typical English castle, or at least what I would imagine an English castle to look like, as it is built out of a red colored sandstone. The castle has a pretty interesting history; it was occupied by rebels allied with Simon de Montfort and put under a six-month siege by the future Edward I in 1266. A 100 acre man made lake (now drained) was engineered around the castle to further increase it's defenses. Unfortunately, the castle was partially destroyed after the English Civil War so that it could not be used.
We headed out for our hike from the castle, planning on following a ten mile loop that would bring us back around to where we started. The weather wasn't cooperating and it was pretty rainy early in the day but cleared up in the afternoon. Below is a photo of the typical scenery in the region, mostly rolling hills and fields. It's a really pretty area and, having come from London, nice and quiet! The path we were hiking was one of the many footpaths that criss-cross through England, taking you through farmer's fields and pastures. Unlike my similar hike on the 1066 Trail, we had the surveyors map so there was little chance of getting lost.
As we got closer to Warwick we stopped at a pub to get a drink before starting again. Shortly after that, in typical English fashion, we stopped at a canal-side cafe so my flatmate could get some tea. From there we started the trek back. Below is a photo looking towards Warwick, you can see the top of Collegiate Church of St Mary in the distance.
We saw quite a few animals on the hike. The below photo is of a horse and colt but we also saw plenty of other horses, goats, sheep and even a lama.
After finishing the hike we hopped in the car and drove to Stratford-upon-Avon, the town best known as the birthplace of William Shakespeare. It looked like a nice little town in which to spend the day, but also seemed a little bit like a tourist trap. There really isn't much in the town other than Shakespeare's birthplace (below) and his grave. Nevertheless, it was nice to stroll around the town and check it out. The second photo below is of the Avon, the church spire in the distance is the church where William Shakespeare is buried.
My train was leaving a little after 9 PM, so we drove back to Kenilworth to get some dinner closer to the train station. We ate at a Indian restaurant that was VERY good. I suppose I haven't tried Indian food often enough to be a very accurate judge of the quality, but to me it seemed great. It was a long day, since we left the flat around 8 AM and I didn't get home until just after midnight. But it was great to get outside and stretch my legs and spend some more time with my flatmate and her friend.
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