Last weekend we went to Reigate Fort with my sister and brother-in-law. We had a lovely walk through Gatton Park, and ate a picnic in the drizzle whilst watching a slightly disappointing historical re-enactment. I don’t think we could have had a more typically English summer day out if we’d tried!
(Well, we could have gone to the seaside and eaten sandwiches in the car whilst sheltering from the pouring rain, I suppose.)
There were three periods of military history being demonstrated – Napoleonic, Victorian and First World War. The slightly disappointing part of the demonstration was because the WW1 machine guns kept getting jammed and refusing to fire. There were lots of small boys who absolutely loved the Napoleonic cannons, which were much more reliable!
There was also a section (ostensibly for children) where you could have a go at firing a cannon, mortar or musket. The picture above shows a new flint being fitted to one of the muskets, which I took while Paul was in the queue, waiting for his turn.
Here’s Paul, firing a bright orange paintball towards a small plywood Napoleonic soldier.
He’d been told to aim just below the webbing – and his shot was right on target!
The sun came out as we were walking back through the park, so we were able to enjoy some fabulous views all the way across Surrey. We didn’t see any of the highland cattle that wander around Gatton Park (although there was plenty of evidence that they’d been there!), but we sat on a bench at the top of the hill and ate muffins in the sunshine.
Lovely.