UK: Warwick Castle

Warwick Castle is a medieval castle situated on a bend of the River Avon, in small town called Warwick, in the Warwickshire County in England.

 Warwickshire, England

 This castle is massive and I read that William the Conqueror started its construction at around 1068, really old... Its quite nice and impressive for its size. We arrived there at around 18:00h so it was about to close. The ticket to go in costs a small fortune (around £22 per person) so we didn't feel so bad for missing it. There was a medieval event going on, so tents were set and some war apparatus were displayed. Here are some pictures so you guys can have an idea about it (maybe almost as much as we had)! 
   

                                         

                                      Source: Wikipedia



Entrance to the Castle

  

The City of "Warwick"

UK: Kenilworth Castle

Kenilworth Castle is located in the town of the same name in Warwickshire, England. It was Easter when we visited it and you can all have an impression by the pictures of how cold it actually was this day. Anyways, although very old and initially constructed by Normans and expanded with time, it is best known as the former home of Robert Dudley, the great love of Queen Elizabeth I. Dudley created an ornate palace here to impress his Queen when she visited it in 1575. The Tudor tower even hosts an interesting exhibition on the relationship between Queen Elizabeth and Dudley.

The castle was built over several centuries. Each part of it shows a different architecture style. It was founded in the 1120s around a powerful Norman great tower, but it grew bigger by King John’s reign (beginning of the 13th century), when he also designed a huge water defence around it (inexistent nowadays).  John of Gaunt also changed the castle, turning it into a palace fortress designed in the latest perpendicular style. After that, the Earl of Leicester (Robert Dudley) then expanded it once again, constructing new Tudor buildings and turning the castle into a Renaissance palace.

Kenilworth Castle was partly destroyed by Parliamentary forces in 1649 to prevent it being used as a military stronghold. Today it’s open to the public and it’s listed as an English Heritage. The once lost Elizabethan Garden has been recreated, together with an aviary and a beautiful marble fountain. It’s all a magnificent mixture of different style ruins, stories and mysteries.

Stables

Leicester's gatehouse

The Elizabethan Garden

The Norman Tower

different perspectives!

Ruins of the Great Hall

Ruins of the State Apartments

from the other side of the moat

Blick of the English country side

UK: Blenheim Palace

Blenheim Palace is a beautiful rural palace located in the little town of Woodstock, Oxfordshire. It was built between 1705 and 1722 and it was there also where the former Prime-Minister Winston Churchill was born, in 1874. Today it is a World Heritage Site (UNESCO) and also the residence of the duke and duchess of Marlborough.  It's one of the most visited attractions in the UK.

The palace is surrounded by over 2.000 acres of a wonderful park, a lake, bridges and beautiful gardens. The landscape becomes complete with the animals such as ducks, swans and pheasants. It was probably the place in the world where I felt more peacefull than ever. The tourists were mostly gone and we entered the park through a small metal gate that remains always opened. We walked around in between the sheeps and admiring the endless park until our sights could reach as well as the contrast between the green and the gray of the leafless trees, feeling an immense and inexplicable peace...

 

   

Woodstock: