A Cunning Plan and an Exceptional find!

---

Woolly says – It had been a long week for the girls and it had reached the point where an outing seemed to be unlikely for the week….. unless I could use a bit of cunning! Having checked out a local destination and primed the sat nav I sat and waited patiently for the lazy ones to get up, keeping my paws crossed that they didn’t check the guidance system, I smiled joyfully at them as we got into the car and suggested a change of supermarket, Jo smiled tiredly and mummered an ok, time to see if my cunning plan had worked.



Having no idea as to why he wanted to try yet another supermarket I decided to give in gracefully rather than face a whole lecture on the merits of pistachio’s and the differences between the different shops.



Woolly says – things seemed to be going well and as we passed the first tourist sign for our trip I smiled sweetly and pointed out that we hadn’t been to Chirk Castle yet.



Woolly seemed to have a touch of indigestion going by the look on his face and I nodded in acknowledgement that no we hadn’t made it to that particular castle yet, but pointed out that we had plenty of time in the coming weeks.



Woolly says – To get them into the right mood I thought it was time to divulge some information. The castle was built in 1295 by Roger Mortimer de Chirk as part of King Edward I's chain of fortresses across the north of Wales. Bought by Sir Thomas Myddelton in 1593 it remained in the family until 2004 when the National Trust took the property on. Another sign flashed past and a quick glance at the sat nav told me that we would need to turn very shortly, would Jo just follow the directions or would she cotton on!



We seemed to be going out of our way for the weekly shopping trip but the countryside was lovely and as the mammoth seemed content to watch the fields of sheep I turned onto a single-track lane.



Woolly says – I held my breath as the car park for the castle hove into view and I wondered if my plan would come to fruition! The car stopped and the women both looked in my direction, I smiled sweetly as a loud rumble escaped from my empty belly.



My small friend’s brown eyes looked beseechingly at me as I considered our options, a quick walk round and a snack to keep him happy or a sulking mammoth for the next few days, I opened my car door and clambered out.



Woolly says – I shot out of the car and hurried Jo and Zoe into the ticket office before they could change their mind. Leading the way I passed the soap carving exhibit and trotted as quickly as my paws could go up the long and rather steep driveway, the castle looked wonderful as it’s towers came into view and I hopped excitedly as the women make slow progress of the climb. The views across the Shropshire landscape were lovely and as we skirted the building I was delighted to trot through the huge brick entrance which was certainly grand enough for any mammoth. The courtyard in side seemed to have a large number of people wandering round with a few tables were lunch seemed to be the order of the day, having glanced back at Jo and received a nod I plonked myself down and waited for food to arrive.



As we consumed our snacks a man dressed from head to toe in the regalia of a knight banged on his drum and called for all small people to attend immediately for marching practice, I grinned at the small one and indicated that he was free to join in.



Woolly says – Who needs marching practice when there’s a castle to discover! Seeing a curtained doorway my curiosity got the better of me and I jumped down the small step and into the smoky environment of what had once been the servants’ hall. The walls were coated in soot and the tang of burning wood lingered in the air, two incredibly long benches covered two walls where the forty workers of the castle would have eaten and spent their leisure time, a large chair nearest the fire would have seated the senior steward as a mark of respect for his position. Rebuilt under Henry VII’s orders in 1529 it felt almost as if the staff were just away at their jobs and would be returning shortly for their chow.



As we arrived back in the courtyard we grinned at each other as the ‘small ones’ continued to march up and down and the parents sat watching happily as their children were worn out for them.



Woolly says – A set of steps led us into the state rooms and once my accommodation, or Jo’s bag as far as the lady was concerned, had been left for safety reasons I opted to tuck into Jo’s fleece for my tour of the grandeur. The hallway provided a huge stone fire place with embossed crests and a room filled with swords and guns from around the world, Turkey’s offering was very pretty and definitely got the paws up. As I climbed up the wide spiral staircase the walls became filled with portraits of men with long ringlets in the style of the Royal Kings Charles I, II and III. The turquoise of the small dining room was vibrant and bright with golden moulding forming the panels. As I wandered into the Saloon I came to an abrupt halt as my eye caught the ceiling above me at which point Zoe stood on my tail!



Zoe says – Well if you stop suddenly then accidents will happen!



Woolly says – having rubbed my sore part I decided that the best way to appreciate the full wonder of the ceiling was to lie on my back and try to pick out the canvases of George Mullins (1756 – 75) which depicted scenes from Greek mythology, wonderful, truly wonderful.



As he appeared to have dosed off we wandered into the Drawing room with its intricate gold and blue ceilings reminding us of the wonders we had seen at The Doges Palace in Venice.



Woolly says – Four modern chairs stood against one wall , two with the initials GR and two with ER, used for the relevant coronations of the monarchs, pretty cool that they had ended up here! Into the long gallery I went with its magnificent oak flooring, the large expanse would have been the exercise room for the women of the castle who would have spent much time walking past the portraits of their ancestors. A quick peek into the Kings Crimson Bedroom which had been prepared for Charles I but not slept in as he was put into another room at his wishes. The library filled to the brim with books was inviting and the view of the gardens outside of the window gave me no choice but to go and look round them. The topiary was lovely and as we considered the idea of one day having a topiary mammoth in our garden we came across a lovely thatched building that had once housed the hawks but now provided me with a super chocolatey cake.



Having dusted him down and tried to remove the frosting and crumbs from under his jumper I suggested a look at Adams Tower and the dungeons.



Woolly says – Well who can resist a dungeon! The stone steps down were treacherous and I clung onto Jo as we descended. The strong smell of damp met my trunk and I shivered, it wasn’t a place to linger. We climbed upwards past small rooms and passageways, I turned into what appeared to be a dead end but once rounding the corner I couldn’t help but let out a scream of delight……



Having heard what sounded like a cat being strangled coming from the wall behind me I dashed into the darkness and into a lighter area panicking that he had fallen out of a window or hurt an unsuspecting child!



Woolly says - ….. a TOILET, my delight couldn’t be contained as I checked it from all sides before peering into the hole far below me, what a wonderful discovery, I couldn’t wait to get back to let my friend Sion know. I skipped happily down the steps and back into the outside world, as we started to make our way towards the driveway I noticed an open doorway and having stuck my head round I found myself in the former laundry filled with huge wooden sinks and machines that looked like instruments of torture, in fear of encountering any of that nasty wet stuff I headed down the road and into the Victorian vegetable garden which was bursting with crops of raspberries, peas and beans with apples dripping from the trees were starting to ripen, it make me consider how big a garden I would need to grow pistachios…. now that’s something to chat to Jo about!

---

Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Primed the sat nav
So many castles so little time. You always end up where you need to be.

[traveltalesofawoollymammoth]

We do indeed....
..... still a couple of castles to go but there not open on our free days!