Today I share a few photos from Warwick Castle which I visited again the other day to see the new trebuchet being fired, and to update some of the information I give in my chapter on the Trebuchet in my forthcoming book A-Z of Warwick.
A-Z of Warwick will be published on 15th November 2023 by Amberley and is on pre-order now.
Warwick Castle 1 April 2023 when the river Avon was very high – photo credit SC Skillman
The previous trebuchet was getting worn out, and there was, at one point, an accident with the projectile the trebuchet master fired. It hit the boathouse, which was burned to the ground. I’m glad to report that no such accident happened when the new trebuchet fired for the first time at a public performance on 1st April 2023, as the replacement boathouse is still intact!
As you approach the castle courtyard along a path between towering rockfaces, you can see some of the trees which would have inspired JRR Tolkien for his Ents in ‘The Lord of the Rings’. He loved trees all his life, and in his own artwork, he often drew trees with complex and delicate networks of roots. It is also known he was inspired by the trees of Warwick, and by the location of the castle on the clifftop.
Finally, here’s a video of the river Avon taken at the castle Mill and Engine House. This shows how high the water levels were that day.
Why not sign up on my mailing list and receive my monthly email straight to your inbox? I share gems and snippets from my research discoveries and news and insights from the writing and publishing worlds. And you’ll be the first to hear when I have a new book coming out!
And for those regular readers of my blog posts and online articles who would like to support me, you can do so here at buy me a coffee, and I’d be very grateful!
scskillman.com 