A Weekend of Castles: Bamburgh

Scott and I have enjoyed travelling to Spain, Ireland, Austria, and Holland this year. Add in two trips back to the U.S. already for me, and it has made for a busy time! This past weekend included a bank holiday and the weatherman held out the tantalizing prospect of sunny weather for at least two of the three days, so at the last minute we decided to do a driving holiday and headed for the east coast of England. We spent two nights in a wonderful guesthouse in Alnwick (pronounced "Annick" for our Colonial friends and family) and had a great time leisurely exploring 3 very different castles. First up: Bamburgh Castle.

Bamburgh Castle was originally built during the first century. The Vikings destroyed the original structure in 993. The Normans built the nucleus of the current structure.
Henry VI ruled from here for a short time during the Wars of the Roses before Bamburgh fell during a seige.
The castle changed hands many times over the years and was finally bought by a Victorian industrialist, William Armstrong. Armstrong completed renovations and restorations begun by earlier owners of the castle and it is still owned by the Armstrong family today. It has been the site of several movies.

Castle Entrance

The King's Hall

The ceiling in the King's Hall is made from Siamese Teak.

What's a castle without armor and weapons?!

The castle is built atop a rock outcropping.

Bamburgh Castle sits along the North Sea. After strolling through the castle and grounds, we opted for a walk on the beach. It was a gorgeous sunny day, even a bit warm for May by northern England standards!

Just like all boys, if there is something to be climbed Scott wants to do it!
This time he climbed up on the rocks to take photos of the castle across the beach.

Thought I would take off the shoes and socks and stick my toes in the North Sea.....

Oh My Goodness! Hurry up and take the photo Scott! This water is absolutely frigid!
I couldn't stand to have more than one foot in the water at a time!

Just a little side note for trivia fans from the "Bamburgh Castle Handbook":  "The sand dunes here were the location for actor Richard Burton and actress Elizabeth Taylor's romantic interludes."

We wound up our visit to Bamburgh and headed to Alnwick to find our guesthouse and some dinner. Tomorrow we are going to Alnwick Castle. I heard that groaning and mumbling about "another castle"! Alnwick is a bit of a treat, though, and our day includes a walk through the gardens. All in all, a bit of a treat!