Northumberland: A land of Castles, Castles and yet more Castles.....

If there is one thing Northumberland has, it's castles, LOTS of castles. I suppose they've had a lot of defending to do in their time and clearly, they didn't want to get caught out. Other Mum really likes castles. Mum does too really, but she also likes having something to moan about. Thus I wasn't surprised to over-hear the following conversation:

Other Mum: Oh look, there's Warkworth Castle, lets stop and look.
Mum: What?!?
Other Mum: It's beautiful and of some historic significance (said in a somewhat patronizing manner)
Mum: Oh for god's sake, how many bl***y castles do I have to look at in one day?! Anyway, there's a nice little pub just over....
Other Mum: We're going to the castle.
Mum: But if you've.....
Other Mum: You weren't going to say," if you've seen one castle, you've seen them all", were you darling?
Mum: Humph!

Mum can be a bit of a Philistine when she chooses. Anyway, I thought my friends might be interested in seeing and hearing a little bit about some of the castles we visited, so here goes...

Warkworth Castle

Warkworth is a ruined, but well preserved castle in the village bearing the same name. First mention of the castle is made in a Charter of 1157 - 1164 by King Henry II. The Keep was built by the first Earl of Northumberland in 1377.

Fishing boats with Warkworth Castle in background

 It began to fall into disrepair in 1572 and remained a ruin until mid 19th century when some preservation work was undertaken. It is now maintained by English Heritage.

Alnwick Castle

Alnwick castle is the second largest inhabited castle in England. A castle has been recorded on the site since the 11th century. It was built by the Baron of Alnwick in the classic Norman style. It is currently the home of the Duke of Northumberland.

If you think it looks familiar, many of the external shots of Hogworts School in the Harry Potter movies were filmed here!

Bamburgh Castle

Bamburgh is the largest inhabited castle in England and was known as the Royal Seat of the Kings of Northumbria. The original castle was Anglo-Saxon  ( 5th - 11th century) The Keep is the oldest surviving part and was built in 1164.

Bamburgh Castle from Seahouses harbour

1610 saw the final Royal abandonment of the castle by James I. It has been privately owned ever since and is currently the home of the Armstrong family.

Lindisfarne Castle

The Holy Island of Lindisfarne is connected to the mainland by a long causeway, which twice a day is covered by the incoming tide of the North Sea.

In 634 Oswald became Northumbria's Saint King and it is he who laid the foundations for Bamburgh and Lindisfarne's worldwide fame as the cradle of Christianity. 

Lindisfarne Priory

Oswald requested that the Abbot of Iona send him a Bishop to help convert his people to Chrstianity. Aidan was sent and was given land on Lindisfarne to build a Priory, which became the centre of learning for all of Europe.

St. Aidan

Ruined church - Lindisfarne

Follow the link to find out more about The Holy Island Of Lindisfarne.

Well I hope you've enjoyed Deccy's Quick Guide to Castles. I have to say, I'm with Mum; they are quite interesting but I'd rather go to the pub.. hehe! Tales from the bits of my holiday that didn't involve castles will follow shortly.

Even then, I was dreaming about castles.....

PS. I am writing this blog from my sick-bed. Having been much better yesterday, Mum had to get up three times last night during which, much cleaning of the kitchen floor occurred :-(  Mum is now talking about the possibility of a trip to the V-E-T. I am however perfectly cheerful in myself and so staying in bed isn't strictly necessary; I just like it.