The Year 6 children from Tutshill walked down the hill from school, and arrived at the castle just as it opened. Michael and Dylan welcomed them into the castle, and gave them 10 minutes to explore the lower castle bailey. It's amazing how many children can cram into a medieval fireplace!
The next part of the visit involved climbing up to the top floor of the Marten Tower. Lots of spiral stairs! The space is very atmospheric, which helped us to forget the rest of the world when Dylan told stories of Excalibur and Arthur.
Michael also told stories, and he is very good at providing unexpected moments, making people jump, or gasp! The children (and their adult companions) were enthralled...
While we were in the room, we had a look at lots of traces of medieval plaster and paint, including a nice section of pattern near the fireplace.
We thought about how long it would take to chop and gather the wood, carry it back to the castle, lug it up the spiral staircases, and use it to light the fire and keep it lit. We decided it was a lot of hard work, and that life must have been hard for castle servants in medieval times.
After a quick look at the view from the battlements,
We looked at the Romanesque arches, and the carved stone, and thought about the huge task of building a castle, stone by stone, with no modern machinery.
We walked back down to the newly decorated Earl's Chamber - a modern recreation of a medieval painted room. The ceiling and walls are beautiful, and it makes a very grand setting for storytelling.
Dylan and Michael told more traditional stories, and before we knew it, lunchtime was upon us and it was time to go back to school.
The next part of the visit involved climbing up to the top floor of the Marten Tower. Lots of spiral stairs! The space is very atmospheric, which helped us to forget the rest of the world when Dylan told stories of Excalibur and Arthur.
Michael also told stories, and he is very good at providing unexpected moments, making people jump, or gasp! The children (and their adult companions) were enthralled...
While we were in the room, we had a look at lots of traces of medieval plaster and paint, including a nice section of pattern near the fireplace.
We thought about how long it would take to chop and gather the wood, carry it back to the castle, lug it up the spiral staircases, and use it to light the fire and keep it lit. We decided it was a lot of hard work, and that life must have been hard for castle servants in medieval times.
After a quick look at the view from the battlements,
We looked at the Romanesque arches, and the carved stone, and thought about the huge task of building a castle, stone by stone, with no modern machinery.
We walked back down to the newly decorated Earl's Chamber - a modern recreation of a medieval painted room. The ceiling and walls are beautiful, and it makes a very grand setting for storytelling.
Dylan and Michael told more traditional stories, and before we knew it, lunchtime was upon us and it was time to go back to school.
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