We visited the amazing Chateau de la Hunaudaye this week. It's one of the finest medieval sites in Brittany and after months of reading about castles and knights and life in medieval times it was great fun to finally visit a well restored castle. We had been to Guémené previously where the castle ramparts, a door and queen's baths inspired us but Hunaudaye was something else all together. In better condition it was much easier for us and the kids to imagine the castle as it would have been in its prime. Add on to this the 3D simulations you can watch and the castle really comes to life. We were all particularly fascinated to see exactly how the drawbridge functioned using counterweights. As a homeschooling family these visits are an important part of what motivates and invigorates our learning.
The children also had a great time in the afternoon at the locally organised Rally des Loups. We walked around four sites each offering a different activity for the children - grass weaving, land art, medieval armor and weaponry and hunt the bugs. The children loved it all but I think their favourite was the one we took all the pictures of. After all getting to try on different pieces of real (replica not period) armor and pick up an axe and a sword was almost too much fun. We also discovered that knight's probably only fought for a very short time as their armor was so heavy they would have quickly tired.
All in all a wonderful day and a great continuation of our medieval studies.
Apologies for the poor quality on the photos - we forgot the camera and the phone quality left a lot to be desired in the dim forest light.
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