| We'll be arriving at Branley Castle in about five minutes, |
| but before we get there I'll give you a little information about the castle and what our visit will include. |
| So in fact there's been a castle on this site for over 1100 years. |
| The first building was a fort constructed in 914 AD |
| for defence against Danish invaders by King Alfred the Great's daughter, |
| who ruled England at the time. |
| In the following century, after the Normans conquered England, |
| the land was given to a nobleman called Richard de Vere, |
| and he built a castle there that stayed in the de Vere family for over 400 years. |
| However, when Queen Elizabeth I announced that she was going to visit the castle in 1576 |
| it was beginning to look a bit run down, |
| and it was decided that rather than repair the guest rooms, |
| they'd make a new house for her out of wood next to the main hall. |
| She stayed there for four nights and apparently it was very luxurious, |
| but unfortunately it was destroyed a few years later by fire. |
| In the seventeenth century the castle belonged to the wealthy Fenys family, |
| who enlarged it and made it more comfortable. |
| However, by 1982 the Fenys family could no longer afford to maintain the castle, |
| even though they received government support, and they put it on the market. |
| It was eventually taken over by a company who owned a number of amusement parks, |
| but when we get there I think you'll see that they've managed to retain the original atmosphere of the castle. |
| When you go inside, you'll find that in the state rooms |
| there are life-like moving wax models dressed in costumes of different periods in the past, |
| which even carry on conversations together. |
| As well as that, in every room there are booklets giving information about what the room was used for |
| and the history of the objects and furniture it contains. |
| The castle park's quite extensive. |
| At one time sheep were kept there, |
| and in the nineteenth century the owners had a little zoo with animals like rabbits |
| and even a baby elephant. |
| Nowadays the old zoo buildings are used for public displays of paintings and sculpture. |
| The park also has some beautiful trees, |
| though the oldest of all, which dated back 800 years, |
| was sadly blown down in 1987. |
| Now, you're free to wander around on your own until 4.30 |
| but then at the end of our visit |
| we'll all meet together at the bottom of the Great Staircase. |
| We'll then go on to the long gallery, |
| where there's a wonderful collection of photographs showing the family who owned the castle a hundred years ago |
| having tea and cakes in the conservatory - |
| and we'll then take you to the same place, |
| where afternoon tea will be served to you. |
| Now if you can take a look at your plans you'll see Branley Castle has four towers, |
| joined together by a high wall, with the river on two sides. |
| Don't miss seeing the Great Hall. |
| That's near the river in the main tower, the biggest one, |
| which was extended and redesigned in the eighteenth century. |
| If you want to get a good view of the whole castle, you can walk around the walls. |
| The starting point's quite near the main entrance - |
| walk straight down the path until you get to the south gate, and it's just there. |
| Don't go on to the north gate - there's no way up from there. |
| There'll shortly be a show in which you can see archers displaying their skill with a bow and arrow. |
| The quickest way to get there is to take the first left after the main entrance |
| and follow the path past the bridge, |
| then you'll see it in front of you at the end. |
| If you like animals there's also a display of hunting birds - |
| falcons and eagles and so on. |
| If you go from the main entrance in the direction of the south gate, |
| but turn right before you get there instead of going through it, |
| you'll see it on your right past the first tower. |
| At 3 pm there's a short performance of traditional dancing on the outdoor stage. |
| That's right at the other side of the castle from the entrance, and over the bridge. |
| It's about ten minutes' walk or so. |
| And finally, the shop |
| It's actually inside one of the towers, |
| but the way in is from the outside. |
| Just take the first left after the main entrance, go down the path and take the first right. |
| It's got some lovely gifts and souvenirs. |
| Right, so we're just arriving... |