Determined to make full use of our English Heritage membership, today we visited Warkworth Castle, a striking medieval fortress that sits inside a loop of the River Coquet.
It was the favoured northern residence of the powerful Percy family and is famous for its grand, cross-shaped great tower built by Henry Percy, the first Earl of Northumberland.
It certainly looked impressive when we entered the bailey …
… although this Percy lion has lost his tail!
One of the most famous of the family was the good looking and fearless Henry or Harry ‘Hotspur’ Percy but his hot temper and plotting backfired and he died before he could inherit the earldom. He lives on through his nickname used by Shakespeare and Tottenham Hotspurs!
We looked round the great tower …
… with views in each direction …
… including the river, which is our next destination.
I was intrigued when I found out that there were the remains of a chapel known as the hermitage, carved directly out of the cliff rock and accessible only by boat which we could visit. We walked down to the crossing …
… and saw the boat returning to shore.
Once across, we saw flood markers showing how high the tide can rise here.
It is thought the chapel was built by the first earl as a chancery chapel where prayers would be said for the souls him and his family …
… and it has lovely carved ribs and vaulting and even a worn coat of arms.
The idea that it was a hermitage may have arisen to keep it safe from attack, and living quarters were added later to the front. It certainly felt a little like a hidden treasure.
Returning, we found the perfect grassy spot to eat our picnic in the castle then were set for the afternoon.
While it is easy to get into Alnwick garden, tickets to the Poison Garden sell out fast but we managed to book on a late afternoon tour. Created by the present Duchess of Northumberland and opened in 2001, this modern garden combines sculpture, water features and planting to create a wonderful family attraction according to the website. We passed signs to Lilidorei play area and adventure golf on the way in and once inside, with all the children riding round on their diggers, it felt a little more like a theme park!
We wandered round, admiring the fountains and rills, hornbeam hedging, bamboo maze and the ornamental garden, dodging children running this way and that, but it really only took an hour and then we were done.
Our tour of the Poison Garden was a bit of a show too, starting with the entrance!
Our guide was most engaging telling tales of the various plants which included very common plants like rhubarb with its poisonous leaves, and deadly nightshade with poisonous berries.
Some like this castor oil plant which contains ricin were kept in black cages …
… and this Gympie Gympie from Australia which we were told may be the most dangerous plant in the world is kept in solitary confinement in its own glasshouse.
It is covered in fine, needle-like silica hairs that inject a powerful neurotoxin and victims describe the sensation as being burned with hot acid and electrocuted at the same time. After 20 minutes, it was time to leave and we weren’t allowed to stay unsupervised for our own safety!
We returned to the car through the town, passing through the Hotspur Tower …
… and spotting a statue of the Harry himself.
Last stop was Barter Books, one of the largest secondhand bookshops in the country housed in the old Victorian railway station.
We didn’t buy, but couldn’t help having a quick browse and a look at the mural of writers through the ages.
Fortunately we had survived the poison garden, but on the drive back I couldn’t help thinking it was a bit like a curiosities exhibit at an old fashioned fair.
Off Travelling Together 