Weekend Escapes with Warwick Davis

Warwick and his family attend a flying competition in Worthing, visit a medieval festival and watch a race where the competitors drive lawn mowers. This week the Davis family are trying out ‘glamping’, camping in style, at a Sussex campsite. After they get settled in they they head off to Worthing which is home to the Worthing Birdman Competition for two days every year. The contest sees competitors trying to ‘fly’ by launching themselves off a 30ft platform over the English Channel. Anyone who manages to fly for 100 metres wins a £10,000 prize. Warwick officially opens the event with the Mayor of Worthing and the family watches as numerous competitors have a go at flying and end up falling straight in the sea. Warwick says: “It certainly does celebrate English eccentricity at its most extreme really doesn’t it?” Next, the family visit Billingshurst, home to an annual lawn mower race and a place Warwick visited with his parents when he was young. The competition is a 12 hour endurance race with each team made up of three drivers who share the driving. Warwick is invited to fulfill a life-long ambition by having a go at racing a lawn mower around the track. He says: “The family seem to be enjoying themselves although I think they might be a bit worried that I might want to take this up as a hobby sport which I kind of do actually. I wouldn’t mind jumping on a mower and doing this every few weeks.” For the last part of their Sussex trip, the Davis family visit Robertsbridge which is steeped in medieval history. They visit Bodiam Castle and a medieval festival where they learn about medieval customs and have a go at archery. Warwick says: “It’s great family entertainment isn’t it, learning to kill.” Warwick immerses himself in the festival by dressing up in traditional costume and taking part in a battle reenactment playing the part of a negotiator. Unfortunately his negotiation efforts do not succeed and his side loses. Speaking about his time in Sussex, Warwick says: “For me the highlight of Sussex was undoubtedly the lawn mower racing. Actually being able to sit on one and race round the track was absolutely amazing. So I’ll be taking the blades off my lawn mower when we get home and I’ll be racing it round the garden.”

The Davis family head to Norfolk where they take a boat out on the Norfolk broads, have a go at milking sheep and Warwick takes part in an RNLI training exercise. Norfolk is famous for being the driest county in England and it is also home to the UK’s largest protected Wetlands, the Norfolk Broads, which are made up of over 125 miles of waterways. Warwick hires a 35ft long boat and after kitting the family out in life jackets and sailor hats, they climb aboard and set sail from Potter Heigham. However driving the boat is not as easy as it looks and it takes a few attempts for Warwick to get the boat out of the dock. He says: “Ok so that wasn’t the smoothest of starts but now we are cruising there’s plenty of time to ease ourselves into the languid pace of life on the Norfolk Broads.” Surrounded by lush scenery and wildlife, the Davis family soon start to enjoy themselves. Warwick even climbs aboard an ice-cream boat doing the rounds and helps its owner sell treats to the other punters on the broads. Next the family visit Hunstanton, a resort built in the 1800s as a destination for leisure-seeking Victorians. Here they visit the local beach and Hunstanton Lifeboat Station (owned by the RNLI) which was founded in 1867. Warwick is invited to take part in an RNLI training exercise and after being squeezed into a dry suit he is taken out to sea on one of the hovercrafts. Warwick says: “This is a real privilege getting to join the lads for a full on life saving drill. Eat your heart out Hasslehoff!” Then it’s on to Great Bircham to visit a 200-year-old windmill, once used to grind corn and pump water from the marshland. In the 19th century it would have been one of 700 working windmills in Norfolk but nowadays its owner has branched out into sheep farming. As well being the only sheep milker in Norfolk, Ellie Chalmer’s cheese has won bronze medals. Here the Davis family have a go at milking the flock. Warwick says: “Actually I don’t think you fully always appreciate where the milk on your breakfast table comes from and Harrison just sees it in a container all the time doesn’t he? And now he realises that it comes out of an animal. He’ll probably go off it now to be honest.” Finally they’re on the last leg of their Norfolk trip and in typical British fashion it has begun to pour with rain. But Warwick, prepared for any situation, takes his family to the local amusement arcade where Harrison amuses himself on the two pence drop game. Warwick says: “It’s a very traditional seaside thing to do isn’t it, going to amusements and getting rid of all your 2ps. “This is the most excited I’ve seen Harrison all holiday! Typical you arrange all these activities to educate and entertain kids but all they really want is some flashing lights and a handful of loose change!”

In episode four, the Davis family visit the Lake District where Warwick tries out ghyll scrambling, they take a trip to a pencil museum and receive a blessing from the Druid Archbishop of Cumbria. The Lake District is the largest national park in England, covering an area of 885 square miles and is an area the Davis family visit regularly. Warwick says: “I’ve got memories of coming here as a child in the caravan with my mum and dad and it rained the entire time. I also came here with my school on a school trip and I think that’s really what gave me an absolute love for this place. It’s absolutely stunning. I think if you asked any of us, we would say this is our absolute favourite place in the world.” The family arrives at a campsite in Keswick and after setting up their tent, Warwick heads off to try his hand at ghyll scrambling. This involves climbing or scrambling down freezing cold mountain streams and rocky crevices whilst only wearing a wet suit. Warwick, who can’t swim, admits he is having second thoughts. He says: “I wanted to push myself really and test my sense of adventure but I’m severely lacking in that this morning now I’m here so I’ve just got to get on with it I suppose and squeeze into a wetsuit.” After half an hour of ghyll scrambling Warwick is wet and shaking with cold. He says: “I’m glad I did it. I’m not going to be in a rush to do it again - it’s just one of these things you can tick off the list to say you’ve done I suppose.” Next it’s off to the Pencil Museum for some more sedate fun. The Pencil Museum in Keswick opened in 1981 and is one of the Davis’ family’s favourite places to go in the Lake District. As well as containing interesting facts about pencils, the museum also has commemorative pencils, interactive displays and a huge selection of pencils on sale. Warwick explains: “It may surprise you but there’s an awful lot to learn about the humble pencil!” The Lakeland Country Fair near Torver is the Davis’s next destination. At this traditional event, the family enjoy ferret racing, a ‘best stick’ competition and Warwick is given a lesson in making the local delicacy Cumberland sausage. Warwick is also asked to referee a traditional Cumberland wrestling competition and to judge the wrestlers costumes. The last stop on their tour of the Lake District is Penrith where they visit Long Meg and Her Daughters, a stone circle which is 100 metres across. Long Meg is the sixth biggest stone circle in North Europe and here the family meet a group of druids including the Druid Archbishop of Cumbria who gives them a blessing in the centre of the circle. Warwick says: “I think this is one of the highlights so far for me. These are the places I imagine being when I’m all stressed out. I think where do I want to be now, on a hill top in the Lake District, exactly where we are. It’s nice.”

Warwick and his family take a trip to North Wales where they attend a Women’s Institute meeting, meet a group of weightlifters, are knighted to become Jedis and meet a record-breaking llama.

In the final episode of the series, the Davis family travel to Lancashire where they enjoy a tea dance in the Blackpool Tower Ballroom, meet a family of lemurs and Warwick gets into a fight at a stunt school.