Our first stop on our adventure was Alnwick Castle (prounounced All-nick). We choose this particular place because it was the filming site of Robin Hood Prince of Thieves starring Kevin Costner and since I loved this movie as a kid it was a must see while living in England. They used it to portray Maid Marion's home. After I started researching the castle I found that it also was the filming location for Harry Potter and Elizabeth which were a bonuses as well.
The castle fortress is pretty amazing. It is the second largest inhabited castle in all of England. The Duke and Duchess of Northumberland still live there and it has stayed in the Percy family for over 700 years (can you imagine property staying with the same family for that long...wow!), but it was thought that the castle was probably built in the before the 1090's. Outside the castle there were amazing patches of daffodils in full bloom which helped brighten up the gloomy, misty day.
While the weather was decent we walked around the walls of the castle and Addison found some canons about her size. She started calling them "shoots" as that is what they DO, but not what they are...we just went along with it.
As the weather turned on us a bit, we headed into a few of the towers that were set up as mini archeological and weaponry museums. This one had loads of wooden swords, powder horns, moulds for gun shots and armor. It was actually pretty cool to see how they made all of it.
Sorry to all you Harry Potter fans, I have to admit that I've only seen the very first HP movie and have never read any of the books but I was pretty impressed to see one scene portrayed on the castle wall..the first flying lesson.
Then I had Kevin and Harrison pose in front of the very same wall that they shot the scene at. Very cool!!!! We took some time to walk through the state rooms of the castle and they were pretty amazing. I loved their library as it had a little catwalk up around the upper level. The coolest part was the huge flat screen TV that was set up with a gaming system. The family obviously uses this room a lot and it was funny to see it being "lived in." They don't allow you to take pictures inside the state rooms so I don't have any to show you.
In a small court yard they have the "Knight's Quest" set up for small children and it was great for the kids. They got to dress up as medieval knights or princesses. They got to do sword fighting, crayon rubbings, dance with a May pole, sit with a dragon, and more. Kevin helped Addison with some archery lessons.
We prepared the kiddos for a dual - helmets, swords, sheilds and all. They did chase each other around but got a little carried away with the swords on each other. Both were crying at some point, but they looked so cute that we just let them keep going.
To keep the peace, Kevin stepped it to defend dear Addison's honor and fight the grueling Prince Harrison.
We even got to sit on throne's with a "real" dragon.
One of the highlights for Kevin and I was that appearance of two Harry Potter starts - "Hogrid" (Hagrid) and "Dumbledare" (Dumbledore). They did a fun little comedy and magic show that was entertaining for the kids and parents alike.
In the afternoon we headed towards the ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle, a National Trust site near the town of Craster in Northumberland. We parked at the small carpark just on the edge of town and walked out in the middle of a field (a public pathway) about 1 1/2 miles to get out to the castle.
Addison thought it was pretty cool that we were walking right out where the sheep were. She wanted to go up and touch all the baby lambs, but we were quick to explain that mumma sheep were very protective of their babies and if she didn't want to get butted over she better stay clear.
Earl Thomas of Lancaster began construction on the castle in 1313, but he was executed in 1322 when it was nearly completed. John Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, improved the castle later in the 14th century. The main part of the castle that remains are these massive D-shaped towers of the gatehouse which are thought to at one time be about 4 stories tall.
Addison and I climbed up the spiral stair case of the keep to look back down at Kevin below. The wind was pretty gusty but it was an amazing view of the pastures, hills, wash
Addison poses as we get a shot of the back of the main keep of the castle. She just love climbing all over the ruins. Funny to think that this place was actually someone's home at one time. It was said that this castle wasn't really a crucial stronghold for England border protection from the Scots. It actually got destroyed more during the War of the Roses which was domestic fighting between the houses of Lancaster and York for the throne of England. Over time as it decayed, stones were stolen from the site to be used for other places in the area.
It was pretty amazing to see the sea swell in and out at the base of the castle. After being at the touristy Alnwick castle in the morning it was great to get out into the tranquility of this place. It does take a little bit more imagination to picture the way things used to be at a place like this but there is something about it's openness that makes you feel free.
Across the way along the wall was the Constables Tower. It was three stories tall with a single room on each level...seemed like a huge structure for just three rooms!
Harrison had been in quite a stroppy mood all morning and we were glad that he managed to get a nap as we walked out to the castle. But he woke up and only wanted Daddy to hold him and he made dad carry him for over a mile in one set position. Kevin was a good sport to keep the boy content but he took a much needed break at the rock wall at the edge of town before we headed back to the car. We headed off to our hotel which was just a little place off the A1...it was a super tiny room and not much to look at but it was a place to lay our heads for the night.
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