We retrieved the car from Cambrai and reunited our fleet of vehicles at Vic-sur-Aisne. Although we have all been enjoying 20km cycle trips along the towpath, the hills around the River Aisne are just becoming too big for a family cycling trip. So, today we decided to use the car to visit the enchanting castle at Pierrefonds – currently used as the location for the BBC drama “Merlin”.
The foundations of the castle date back to 1393. However it was destroyed in 1616 and left in a romantic pile of ruins until Napoleon bought it in 1810. It was a good year – he bought a castle and opened a tunnel!
But it was not until 1857 when Napoleon III commissioned an architect to restore the castle to its former glory that the castle regained its grandeur. He was an architect with a passion for the Middle Ages and the Renaissance periods and he combined these loves in his designs.
The masonry is detailed and exquisite and full of fun. The castle itself is completely empty and tourists can wander at ease through the vast halls. We were all intrigued by the Renaissance style double spiral staircases. They run alongside one another but never meet. I imagined scenes of secret trysts; the boys made up stories of wild chases and sword fights.
Dan and Cal carried their Warwick Castle swords and shields with them on the tour of the castle and staged some fierce clashes, much to the amusement of other tourists.
SO was Callum in his Okehampton helmet with the red plume? I hope so because then he was bound to be the victor. Sounds like a really super castle.
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