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Flowers wither, clouds cascade and the rain pours as we descend into the womb of the sullen earth; why do the birds still sing? I recently had the pleasure of filming the Middle-Earth inspired ballad, 'Niënor', from my upcoming album 'The Wood Beyond the World' at the beautiful haunted ruins of Guys Cliffe in Warwick, UK. Similar to the tumultuously tragic love story between Niënor Níniel and Túrin Turambar in Tolkien's 'The Children of Hurin', this retreat also has it's own bittersweet love story to tell... The core of the 13th Century legend is that Guy of Warwick, a man of humble origins, fell in love with the Lady Felice whom was of a much higher social standing. In order to wed her, he had to prove his valour in chivalric adventures and become a knight; in order to do this he travelled widely, battling fantastic monsters such as dragons, giants and great boars. He returned and marries Felice but soon, full of remorse for his violent past, he leaves on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land to redeem himself. His wife missed him terribly whilst he was away and would endlessly walk a path that the often frequented together, tears never ceasing. Now overlooked by ancient Yew trees, this is now known as 'Felice's Walk'. By the time Guy returned home many years later, many more battles had left him a weary old man and upon reaching English shores, he sought anonymity and a quiet life, so returned to Warwick where he lived as a hermit in a cave beneath Guys Cliffe. He did see his dear wife, but he was unrecognizable; far from the young fearless night that he had once been. She only saw a poor man kneeling before he taking bread and water: she did not see her husband and he could not bring himself to tell her. Finally, seeing death slowly creeping in, Guy sent a message to his wife finally revealing his identity; she rushed to the cave where he was hiding where he died in her arms. Unable to cope with her heartbreak and grief, she is said to have flung herself from the rocky cliff at the end of 'Felice's Walk', where she is still said to haunt to this day. I would like to personally thank Adrian King of Guys Cliffe House for opening up and letting us film in this enchanting location and Alex Burton for helping me bring this project to life. For more information on Guys Cliffe, please visit: Music: YYLVA - Niënor Filming & Editing: Alex Burton Please visit my website for more information on this project and please LIKE and FOLLOW my pages on Facebook and Instagram: Website: Bandcamp: Facebook: Instagram:
