We watched a medieval-era play. Here is one of the narrators.
The village smithy - hard at work.
Period-specific singers...
"Master Fletcher" - one of the 'presenters'. 'Got to watch various arrow-shooting contests.
And the amazing "Master Payne" - jongleur extraordinaire!
Delight!
Well, not so much... Maybe his feet were tired?
The entertained audiences...
The cute, cute women...
The bulk of them were dressed up in some fashion...
Some period clothing - some just for fun!
Here's an anxious moment watching the magician's show!
Pirates were surprisingly common!
But whatever they were wearing, they were darling to observe
as they were enchanted by the goings-on...
It really is a fascinating cluster of buildings, land, and very dedicated people living outside of maintstream, contemporary society... There are weekend 'events', classes, tours, festivals and banquets offered throughout the year.
There are at least a half dozen permenant structures, and plans for any number of additions as time and funds allow. We got to wander around the village and chat with the various villagers who were dressed in period clothing and acting completely in character in their chosen role (laborer, scribe, blacksmith, inn-keep, etc...)
The longest standing building there is the Bors Hede Inne which is a dinner 'theater' type of experience.
We stayed for supper - which was delicious. Traditional 14th century food, served on trenchers (no forks in sight) and accompanied by singing and a chatty inn keeper made for a delightful evening.
Camlann is nestled in amongst lush woods filled with bracken and moss-dripping, fairy-worthy, vine maple bowers nestled between huge trees....
We got to see some of the token livestock whose wool is used in spinning and dying demonstrations...
We also got to chat with the village blacksmith, who was making giant iron door hinges for the new building under construction...
Some tools of the trade...
The walls had just finished getting the last few vine maple branches (indigenous material of the Pacific Northwest) added and woven into the lattice pattern that will be soon be covered in clay daub.
I was quite taken with the pattern and texture of the back lit weaving. It's almost a shame that it will soon be invisible inside the walls...
Period tools were evident...
It is a fascinating place. Made more so by the dedication of the folks who people this place... A very interesting life-style choice...
It is a gorgeous, slightly out-of-the-way location - with views of water and mountains (and can you believe that the vine maples are already showing some color? July feels too early for red leaves).
The center is a beautiful complex of buildings and boardwalks - all trying to integrate into their natural surroundings.
I loved these views of wild-things growing on the roofs of the various structures....
One of the coolest aspects of the courtyards were clusters of large, wooden drums they had scattered about nestled under the trees. Each drum had its own tiny, barely visible pipe that was dripping water from several feet above.
The drips must have been on computer timers or some other mechanism because they were varied and random, and the whole courtyard would echo with deep-throated percussiveness. Talk about magical and atmospheric! It was like something out of a Shakespearean fairy glen. (We discussed the possibilities of setting a similar thing up in our own backyards - but it seemed a bit beyond our capabilities).
Beautiful cluster of Devil's Claw which grows in the understory of the woods here. Very prickly. Didn't get close enough to know if you could eat this one or not.
We've had an exceptionally rainy week or so here - especially for July in the Pacific Northwest where it rarely rains from July 4th through October. Things are very green and lush for July.
It was a warm day. Our assistant guide was attempting to stay shaded and cool. She looked like she belonged to my Celtic Tree People series. :-)
Another local plant, called Sea Foam - which it does resemble a bit when blooming and back-lit.
It was a gorgeous place and a lovely way to spend a morning. We got to taste more things than I would have thought were edible, and identified many, many more.
Now back to my own yard. There are still raspberries and blueberries and borage blossoms to be picked. And dream about additional edible additions....
Posts
All Comments
