Half-term fun at Leeds Castle (16-24/02/08)

Hands on History

What luck! No rain during the nine days of half-term fun and most of the time sunny although cold. The fine weather brought out the crowds and there were up to 3000 visitors each day. The ‘Hands on History’ team kept the crowds amused with four separate performances, the Romans, Normans, 100 Year War and the Civil War. For each era there was an explanation of dress codes for soldiers. Members of the audience acted as models and tried on the authentic-looking costumes. Every hour on the hour a trebuchet was loaded with a water bomb and fired. In the small tent the children were able to try their hands at firing crossbows using rubber-tipped arrows, whilst the poor members of the events team were kept busy retrieving them.