Sunday, June 01, 2008

Camlann Medieval Village

I ran across the website for Camlann Medieval Village ... any Wordhoarders ever been there?

Also, why are such things always so far from where I live?
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4 comments:

  1. Jennifer Lynn Jordan9:37 AM

    That's very far. Also, this is very far:

    http://www.bendshire.com/

    I'd like to live there, too.

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  2. Dr. Virago11:06 AM

    Camlann is no closer to me, but hey, I was still pleased that there's something like this in the States at all -- that is, if it's real living history and not on the level of Medieval Times (which I like for other reasons).

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  3. Anonymous8:27 AM

    Camlaan is in my neck of the woods and I have been out there 5 or 6 times over the last 15 years. I've never been to one of their feasts (I keep meaning to go for Michaelmas on my birthday, but it never quite seems to work out) or any of their lectures.

    They have a very nice facility and they put out beautiful mailers that always inspire me with hopes of immersion and hopes of seeing something interesting ... but in the end I am always let down.

    The first couple of times I went, there seemed to be a lot of energy to the place, but that they were short on time, money and resources. But they had that love for the era that came through in their re-creation. They used to have villagers wandering the street and an ongoing plot threaded through the day's activities -- a relic-monger just arrived from Santiago de Compostella trying to rip people off and the women of the village upset at the miller's wife for breaking sumptuary laws.

    But they've let that go now. Now, there are minstrel shows every hour and a fighting demonstration twice a day and a really fun magician (who is worth the price of admission himself). There is a blacksmith (who uses 19th century tools). They have a working cider mill and a tour that talks about the cider making process, but it has never been in actual use when I've been there.

    The best thing they've got going is their inn which serves medieval recipes on trenchers. Not Medieval Times food, but actual period food. It's a hard sell, though. There's nothing for picky eater kids (like mine) or for stodgy non-historians (the time I took my parents was a disaster as soon as they said "no beer").

    So as neat as the place is, there's very little education. There is some atmosphere, but it quickly gets drowned out by the fact that there's nothing to do.

    I find I much more enjoy and look forward to the Washington Renaissance Faire (http://www.washingtonrenfaire.com/). It's not educational, but it is very big, plenty to do by yourself or with a family and there are lots of shows/performers. Last year's joust was especially good.

    There's my review,

    --Tim Morgan
    tim@sabledrake.com

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  4. Anonymous7:22 PM

    I was there very recently, August 15, 2010. I found the place a bit run down and obviously operating on a shoe string budget. We had tickets for the Medieval Feast and allowed ourselves three hours of walking about time in the village, which was much too much time. There just wasn't that much to do or see. We didn't experience any recreation of the medieval life that gives you a feeling of being a part of it all. There was no blacksmith or working Cider mill. The magic act was entertaining, the sword fighting demonstration mildly interesting and the singing ministrals and musicians delightful, but overall the Medieval Village was a bit boring and disappointing.

    We did attend "The Summer Feast" which almost made it worth it, the food was delicious and the manner in which it was served was entertaining but $45.00 price tag a bit much.

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