Bartimaeus

We have had three days in Warwick. The weather has been mixed with some heavy rain and some freakishly high temperatures for the end of October. We have twice gone to a characterful tearoom, the Thomas Oken Tea Room, and sat outside both times. They were seasonally spiced with lemon and slime cake on offer, and a very tasty parkin and Halloween soup which we both chose today for lunch….some mix of orange vegetables.

The rain has been mostly at night so we have not had very wet days. The Braunston locks have lifted their timing restrictions on the locks, just as the clocks go back and the hours of daylight are pretty much making the operational hours the same as they were with the restrictions. Warwick is certainly a historic town with lots of timbered housing and a timbered military hospital. The two military museums were not open but there was plenty to see and we didn’t have to hide from bad weather. Medieval Britain and spookiness abounds around the town. There was a ducking stool in the crypt of the church, sets of stocks, a headless horseman in the castle grounds, a gaol door in the door, rebuilt in the barracks after the original prison burnt down.

Apart from the maniacal laughing clown at the joke shop, there were a few other unusual statues. Not being a sport buff, I hadn’t heard of the successful boxing family of Turpins, one of which was the first non white person to win a British title. His brother won the European middle weight championship and it is he, who is in the market square. There are muzzled bears adorning many places including the library and the tomb of a noble knight in the church.

We arrived too late at the market as it was packing up. I was surprised to see on the tourist attractions map that the Canal Centre we are moored in was marked. The castle is obviously a draw but pricey and very busy with extra Halloween events so we did not venture in. We made a discovery today of a beautiful garden at an old mill cottage, with an honesty box contribution at the bottom of a lovely little street. There was a great view of the castle from there and and some huge hogweed (not giant, just slightly smaller and hopefully therefore not toxic). It was not huge but had enough little paths, cute benches and hidden corners to feel like a real find.

We really enjoyed strolling around and amazed this was not on the map. Perhaps because residents don’t want their street being a tourist attraction or because it is not a commercial draw. The honesty box contribution goes to charity.

We are heading back to Edinburgh tomorrow and have managed to get all our recycling dealt with at the nearby supermarket car park. Tomorrow morning we have an appointment for a pump out which the canal centre provides, but wasn’t able to do it today. They have pretty gardens historical displays and a bat rehabilitation centre! That’s not a seasonal scary thing at all. It will still be here when we come back, whenever that is, but I expect the little dragon pumpkin on the nearby picnic table will have gone.