***

There aren’t many better locations to stage medieval re-enactments than Arundel Castle.

The imposing stronghold, as all young visitors will tell you, is a “proper castle.”

No surprise then to find the Raven Tor Living History Group going at each other with a variety of weaponry to the point of exhaustion, mainly due to their heavy armour.

“This is a message for combatants: can you please make your way to the arena?” was the cue for clunking footsteps; and “The more you cheer, the better they will fight” the cue for some gratuitous audience participation.

In the bird department, Buzbee the barn owl was a crowd-pleaser, provided there were chicklet legs on offer (apologies, vegetarians).

Also on display were medieval armour making, weaving, leather work and period medicine and surgery, which, given the ferocity of combat, was probably a wise extra precaution.

Christopher Sparrow