Warwick Castle welcomed some very special guests to its festival of archery; Junior National Outdoor U18 Champion Emelia Hughes - whose archery journey began at Warwick Castle - and Olympic archer Tom Hall who lives in Kenilworth. 

On the day, Emelia reunited with her very first archery instructor, Gareth Yearley, while Tom Hall pitted his modern recurve bow against the castle bowman's traditional longbow - demonstrating how archery has transformed into a modern sport. 

The archers' visit was also a surprise for guests, who received added top tips from Emelia and Tom as they tried their hand at Warwick Castle's have-a-go archery stand.

During a visit to the castle in 2017, Emelia, aged 11 at the time, tried her hand at the popular stand after witnessing the resident archers demonstrate their skills. From then on, she was inspired to take up the sport in its modern form.

Gareth Yearley, who was the archery instructor that led Emelia's first have-a-go session in 2017, also returned to the castle to see how Emelia was inspired to continue her archery journey and has since become a champion.

Emelia Hughes and Gareth Yearley in 2017 (image supplied)

Emelia said: "It's surreal to be back here, in the spot where it all started and to meet Gareth again.

"When I saw the have-a-go archery at Warwick Castle back in 2017, I knew I wanted to try it and that first session led me to take a beginners' course at my local club and my love for archery has just grown from there.

"It's an exceptionally inclusive sport and it's great to see other kids and families trying archery here as well as watching the castle's bowman – hopefully they'll be inspired to take up the sport too and see how far they can go."

Now 16, Emelia is competing internationally for GB in the discipline. In 2022, she competed at the European Youth Cup in Bucharest, and the European Youth Archery Championships, which took place on home soil at Lilleshall.  

Emelia has already experienced sporting success, becoming the Junior National Outdoor U18 champion in 2021. 2021 was a particularly successful year for the talented archer, with wins in the Junior Masters and National Indoor Championships at U18 level.

When Emelia was 11, she discovered that she had a medical condition in both knees that has resulted in multiple dislocations, and knee reconstruction on one knee so far. She was told not to play any contact sport, but thanks to archery Emelia was able to continue with an activity, channelling all her energy into it.

Emelia, along with Tom Hall and Monty Orton, is part of Meriden Archery Club in Coventry. She is currently undertaking a mechanical engineering apprenticeship at Hereford and Worcester Group Training Association through her employer Yamazaki Mazak, both of which have been exceptionally supportive of Emelia's archery progression.

Liam Bartlett, operations director at Warwick Castle, said "It's absolutely fantastic to welcome Emelia back to the castle and to find out that a Have-a-go session here is what led her to take up the sport. To have an Olympic archer at the castle, demonstrating the accuracy and power of a modern bow is phenomenal. 

"With all our events, we truly aim to unleash history and inspire all generations, so to see this in action is fantastic and we hope to hear even more stories like Emelia's."