Kenilworth Castle

I have to admit that I have always been a fan of just driving around, I like viewing a place from the passenger seat of a car. Since moving to England this desire has only been amplified, there is nothing more enjoyable than a country drive. Okay that may be a bit of an exaggeration, obviously there are things I like more than this, but it is high on the list. This is especially true if we are driving in a direction I have yet to explore. Sometimes we start our days by looking at areas that are two hours or less away that we haven't been to and checking out what there is to see in that location. A couple of weekends ago my husband planned a whole afternoon for me by doing this and what we found to browse was Kenilworth Castle.

As we drove there we did get to see some of the water damage created by some of the flooding this country has experienced this winter, which was a great reminder to be grateful we have remained untouched. Although the road ways we were on were all open and safe to drive on we could see where not that long ago the water probably covered the street as it was still hovering at its edges on both sides. Fortunately in this area at least the homes all seemed to habitable and relatively unscathed, but still made me throw up prayers for the people affected.

The fact that we got caught several times in rain as we drove probably made what we were seeing slightly more ominous despite the water concerns being such a small part of the trip, really only a few spots. I think my its the literary in me that can see things like that and build whole stories around the people living through it and be more effected by it than I have a right to be. Perhaps its that same reason that I enjoy walking the ruins of castles, I can imagine the lives lived within its walls as if those the past inhabitants are whispering to me.

This place had many spots to wonder through and feed my fantasies about life living there, however I did walk a little quicker than I may of liked since the wind caused the rain to beat me in the face. On the up side, the rain did keep the place pretty quite and we rarely had to share any one area with anyone else. No one shoving us out of the way at the gift shop, no wait at the cafe, and we were free to read every plaque without bothering anyone.

The hot chocolate was much nicer for the cold wind blown hands and despite it being nearly closing time the guy working the counter took extra time adding the whipped cream and made no reference to us hurrying through it. I guess you could even argue that being caught in the rain they way we were actually made the day something worth remembering for me. In fact I love this happening from time to time because then I feel like I'm getting a truly English experience.