Jousting Tournament at Leeds Castle

Saturday was the last day of the half term festivities at Leeds Castle, so we bagged the post Disneyland laundry and made our way to the Castle. We arrived just in time to get great seats for the jousting tournament. All I can say is WOW! It was amazing, I felt like I was in the 1500's. King Henry VIII hosted the tournament, and my Knight won. How cool is that?! If y'all turn on "A Knight's Tale," it pretty much was just exactly like the movie. I was shocked by how dangerous and exciting jousting really is.

King Henry VIII - Looks just like his portraits too.

The blue One wanted to act out the jousting while the Pink One watched with bated breath.

Before the tournament began, they had all of the children parade around the arena with swords, shields, rings, and heads. Heads? Yes I said heads, C'mon.....this is England :) Oh and what would a good beheading be if it wasn't washed down with a beer? I was laughing so hard at this random picture I managed to snap. It all looks so nonchalant, "Yeah babe, I'm gonna grab me a pint and then I'll take care of the decapitated head." Seriously.

I loved the way this girl seems to be studying her decapitated head to parade around the arena.

And then when it is all said and done, you drop your decapitated head into a basket. And these children don't have nightmares? I almost did, for crying out loud!

Good gene pool.

Let the games begin.

The contenders.

Action.

Nope, we aren't finished with the heads yet. The object was to spear the head from the ground while speedily riding by.

Punishment for the traitor.

They put this poor squire in a sack, attached it to the horse, and then rode insanely fast while dragging her. The poor girl finally flew out of the bag, and I was shocked that she wasn't seriously hurt. These people are nuts.

Serious action.

Hand to hand combat. I must say that the fighting was really authentic looking. I am not exaggerating when I say that I felt like I was in the 1500's. The only thing missing was that I had showered recently and wasn't wearing layers of clothing and a floor length dress.

The Tournament Champion! He just so happened to be the Knight I was assigned to cheer for. Hooray!

Leeds Castle is beautiful and very picturesque. 

This was a really fun thing to see and experience and it was a perfectly family friendly activity. I love that the Castles on half term and term breaks ALWAYS have something interesting going on, whether it is bird shows, or long bow shooting, or Historical plays, there is something to see and do. The piggies had fun and Hubby and I were amazed. This is one of those random things that we have attended that I will never forget, like when we toured the masonic temple in SLC during the Avenues Street Fair. I love having a Hubby who will be my crazy random partner in checking out and going to the unusual.