Having lived in England for a bit in the mid 80's on archeology related matters, and seen a good number of medieval structures from castles to catherdrals and a medieval tavern that was build entirely around an earlier Roman one, as neat as this looks in pictures, i'll gaurantee its cooler in person. Theres an awe that you feel actually being in places like this, a feeling that the age the comes out of everything and is actually in the air itself.
I second that. I had a short trip to england (1 week) and was lucky enough to visit a swordsmith in his own personal shop, and to see Warwick Castle. I've seen pictures of Warwick Castle, and while they're great, there is absolutely nothing like being at the top of Guy's tower and looking out over the landscape, or seeing the inner courtyard, in person.
The "Red Knight" (of Warwick Castle, not to be confused with our own
) actually took the time to not only acknowledge a geeky little 17 year old kid at the castle with his parents and siblings, but also to dismount his horse, show me his sword, and carry on a conversation while head to toe in armor and surcoat, was truly thrilling. I collected swords for a few years before, but seeing him in armor is a large part of what pushed me to the "I can do it too!" side. I need to get those pictures from my parents and post them.
