Over half term, we were lucky enough to visit Warwick Castle again and, yet again, had an amazing family day out. We always seem to bring the good weather with us when we go to Warwick, even when the forecast isn’t great – we usually bring wet weather kit and go home with sunburn. This trip was no exception – it may have clouded over towards the end of the day but not before we had all basked in the sunshine long enough to have a healthy glow (we suncreamed The Smalls and forgot ourselves. Again.)

The new attraction in the Castle grounds this summer is the Horrible Histories stage show Wicked Warwick which is performed twice daily (until 6th September) and the HH Mediaeval Mayhem area where you can join in with gruesome games, learn some delightful facts about feces and test your Mediaeval medical knowledge. (I can’t remember what it was the cure for but apparently washing your hair with boy’s pee fixed something… ew much?!)

The stage show was hilarious – it had both Tori and Arthur entranced, laughing along and singing away – and so were all of us grown ups! Very clever and just the right length for the setting – you didn’t want to leave before it finished to go do something else which is sometimes the case with these things.

They packed in lots of fun facts and information and the way the whole Castle timeline was covered by just two people and countless costume changes was sheer brilliance. And I have been humming Backstreet Boys almost every day since, just with alternative lyrics – ‘Warwick’s back – ALRIGHT!’

On the day we visited it was also the Wicked Warwick ‘W Factor’ competition, where us commoners were invited up on the stage to audition for the chance to win a cameo role in a future performance of the stage show. Of course, Tori and Arthur insisted that we joined in and luck of the draw meant we were up FIRST. Eeek!

It was actually great fun – the kids didn’t have a shred of nerves – it was all excitement and unadulterated glee as we took to the stage to perform our little poem about the Clarence and Bear Towers at Warwick Castle (assisted by Splash and Teddy, of course). Being up first meant that we were then free to relax and enjoy the other acts, though it soon became clear that our opening score of 12 out of 15 was a strong contender! Before we had to slip away to feed Arthur (who was turning into a bit of a scary bear himself) we only saw one other act – some brilliantly funny pirates – get a higher score than ours. Exciting times!

When we returned to the stage later for the results we were amazed to discover that we finished in third place behind the pirates and a very talented young singer! The Smalls were incredibly over excited and haven’t stopped talking about it since – they definitely had the W Factor!

There’s even an ace video of The W Factor competition – see if you can spot us lot…

There is, of course, much more to do at the Castle. There are the towers to explore and grounds to roam, bird of prey displays and the creepy Castle Dungeons for the brave people to visit. We decided to do all the outdoor activities on this visit because the weather was so nice – we watched the Trebuchet demonstration, squealed in delight as the giant eagles and vultures swooped over our heads from the Castle walls and stalked peacocks around the gardens admiring their beautiful plumage.

We had a brilliant day and were thoroughly exhausted by the end – and we still haven’t done everything there is to do, even though we’ve been three times now! Next time I think Tori and I should go in the Princess Tower for some girly fun 🙂