You know in New Zealand, we don't have vast amounts of history. Many of the old, historic buildings were build of wood and succumbed to fire. It seems that the stone ones don't survive too well in our shakey isles either (re Christchurchs' ongoing earthquakes and the devastation they have wecked on that beautiful city).
But the UK? Well it has oodles of castles, and history sloshing about all over the place. On my recent drive back through Wales we stopped at Tretower castle, a lovely spot, ostensibly to give a little boy a run around and explore, but secretly to allow a certain kiwi a bit of an historical wallow....
And we weren't disappointed. The newer medieval Tretower Court had lots of lovely recreated rooms and spiral staircases to explore and beautiful rose gardens outside. While the original Norman tower a short distance away, reeked of thick walled crumbling stone, might and pathos.
So our visit involved climbing, clambering, exploring, sitting on ancient stone walls, hunting for tadpoles in the creek, sitting in a scent drenched rose garden with a sneaky cappucino, having a bloody battle with an English knight (with new wooden sword and dagger), stock watching (the ewe feeding 2 very newlambs beside a sunny sheltered bit of castle wall) and inevitable photography....
Overall a lovely stop with warm and enthusiastic guides/wardens telling the stories, sharing their experiences with the old place, and most importantly, pouring that coffee...
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