Warwick Racecourse Caravan Club Site

It was a glorious sunny Bank Holiday morning today. We managed to pack up the awning in the dry and left just after midday.

We had a steady drive back and arrived back at Mirey Lees about 1:45.

Hatton Locks

Sun was out first thing but it quickly became cloudy although still nicely warm.

After breakfast we hopped on the bikes for an 8 mile round trip ride to Hatton Locks. A flight of 21 locks on the Grand Union Canal, it spans less than 2 miles of canal and rises 45 metres. The flight opened in 1799, but were widened in the 1930’s

Just before the top lock there is a nice pub on the hill. The Hatton Arms where we stopped for a well earned pint of cider before continuing to the top lock and then riding back from whence we came.

After a nice cuppa we walked into Warwick for a nice rain free stroll around the shops. We sat for a while to eat a nice Thornton's Ice cream, before strolling back to the van for a nice relaxing hour or so in the beautiful afternoon sun.

The big black clouds were on their way so we went inside for tea and waited for the rain to arrive, which it did about 7:30pm, although it didn’t amount to much this time.

Warwick Castle

An overcast start to the day with a short shower or too. Only 3 showers in the otherwise lovely shower / toilet block but I didn’t have to queue. By the time we had had breakfast it had brightened up and the sun was out.

We decided to walk to Warwick Castle, again only a 15 minute walk. Warwick Castle is a medieval castle developed from an original built by Willian the Conqueror. 1068. it was rebuilt in stone in the 12th century.

As we arrived the falconry display was in full swing so we stopped and watched the tail end of that before pressing on and into the castle.

We walked around the walls in bright sunshine. This really is a lovely castle, pretty much completely intact.

We had a nice ice cream and walked round to the river island to get a nice view of the south façade of the castle, which looks more like a country house than a castle.

We then walked along the base of the south façade to the water wheel, which is no longer in use before heading back to see the second falconry display. They were going to fly an American Condor with its 10 foot wingspan. Something I was quite keen to see.

Unfortunately as we waited for the second falconry display, the heavens opened and we had an almighty thunder storm. They postponed the display for a while to wait for the rain to subside which it did for a short while allowing them to give a shortened display, unfortunately with no condor.

As we were now a bit damp and due to the fact that several of the outdoor shows were now being cancelled we decided to head back to the caravan via the town centre.

Unfortunately as we hit the town the heavens opened once again. We sheltered under some scaffolding for a while. We waited about 15 minutes before deciding it was not going to stop, and walked back anyway.

We were like 2 drowned rats by the time we got back, and it only took 15 minutes. Overall the storm lasted nearly two hours, but once it stopped the sun came out for a while, but the evening was fairly overcast although still quite warm.

In the evening we had a short ride to the Green Man in Kenilworth for dinner. We used the voucher Jamie had bought me for my birthday, and had a nice meal. Then back to the van for a relatively early night.

Warwick Racecourse Caravan Club Site

After an uneventful journey we arrived at Warwick Racecourse about 4:30pm. Set on a grass and tarmac enclosure within the grounds of the racecourse it is only 15 minutes walk from the town centre.

It is a nice setting and we had a nice view of the grandstand only a couple of hundred yards away. Unfortunately TV reception was very poor and they also had no Wi-Fi.

It was a lovely warm sunny evening and we got set up nice and easily.

We had a nice leisurely stroll to Sainsbury’s supermarket, only about 15 minutes walk away, to get a few bits and had a nice Pizza and salad for tea.