Our first trip to Japan was planned for autumn 2021 but has taken until now to actually happen – the build up has been immense! Everyone who returns says Japan is amazing, but with such a variety of destinations, sights and opportunities available, it becomes clear that no two trips will be the same and everyone will have their own personal experience.
We’ve learnt not to rush our travels, so we are just visiting the main island of Honshu, where we will explore Tokyo and Kyoto and also spend time in the countryside with excursions to Nikko and Hakone. This should leave enough time to figure things out along the way, as in a country so culturally different, it’s likely to be the little things that takes extra time to navigate, from deciphering menus and finding the right place to stand on a train platform, to mastering slipper etiquette!
It will all be an adventure … but the big question is will we actually see Mount Fuji … !?!
Just before we left Seahouses there was one last thing I wanted to do – visit the Smokehouse and pick up a kipper roll for breakfast! It certainly set me up for the day and was definitely one of the culinary highlights of the trip!
As we drove homeward, our last stop in Northumberland was The Angel of the North, which is actually less obvious from the motorway now the trees have grown up, but is huge when you get there! Always pleased to tick off another Gormley, it was interesting to read about the engineering feat required for such a sculpture.
By lunchtime we had reached Yorkshire, and while it was looking a bit grey the drizzle was holding off and it was time for a stop. Fountains Abbey was a Cistercian house which grew into one of the largest and wealthiest monasteries in England before its closure by Henry VIII in 1539. In the C18th its picturesque ruins were integrated into the landscaped Georgian water gardens of Studley Royal, the creation of John Aislabie and his son William, and the entire site is now managed by the National Trust.
We picked up the map and started walking round the site. The first stop was Fountains Hall, built in Elizabethan times by a local landowner using stone from the ruined abbey. Later it became part of the Studley Royal estate and was leased to tenants, but when the Vyner family inherited the estate in 1923 they chose to restore the hall and live here instead.
It was a very welcoming building made of honey stone decorated with lovely flower arrangements.
Upstairs, the Great Hall had an imposing Jacobean fireplace showing the Judgement of Solomon and a recently restored portrait of Sir John Mallory and family who owned the medieval Studley Royal estate from the 1400s.
As we left we saw the Vyner memorial to siblings lost in WWII …
… then walked through the small garden by the stream …
… and on the watermill …
… and the abbey.
On a brighter day the photos would have been better, but the ruins are striking and extensive.
As we moved through the estate, we also moved on in time. Around 1700 the original Studley Royal house had burnt down and was replaced by a Palladian mansion by Sir John Aislabie who had inherited the estate. His parliamentary career came abruptly to disgraced end in 1721 with the popping of the South Sea Bubble, a scheme he had heavily promoted, and the gardens became his grand, theatrical project to reassert his family’s power and prestige.
We came to several large lakes and some cascades which are more impressive when you realise the labour it would have taken to excavate them by hand …
… and also the slightly overgrown Surprise Viewpoint which reveals the abbey ruins in the distance.
And what of the Palladian Manor? Well that mostly burnt down in 1946, except for a converted stable block which is now in private hands.
Walking back past the deer park, Chris stalked a prime specimen …
… while I took a look at St Mary’s Church which was designed by William Burges in High Victorian Gothic Revival style. It was the flamboyantly decorated interior I wanted to see … but I was too late as it had just closed for the day!
We drove to The Black A Moor Inn where we had a reservation, only to find it has been sold, rebranded and no longer offers rooms! Fortunately we hadn’t paid, and we found room at The Royal Oak in the centre of Ripon instead.
After dinner, we went for a walk round the town square and were very lucky to see a piece of living history. Every night of the year without fail, a horn is blown at the four corners of the Obelisk in Ripon Market Place to set the ‘watch’ and then outside the house of the Mayor. This ceremony commemorates the time in the Middle Ages when Ripon’s first citizen, the Wakeman, was responsible for crime prevention in the city from 9 pm until dawn and had to compensate victims of burglary. The Wakeman had constables to patrol the streets, and also had the right to levy a rate on houses of 2d a year per outside door.
Today Wayne is one of four hornblowers who take turns and although it was nearly 10pm, he was still in the square, told us about his job and posed for a photo.
In the morning we had a quick look round, at the town square with its Obelisk, complete with horn on top built by John Aislabie …
… the town hall with reference to the Wakeman.
The cathedral also beckoned …
… built on the remains of the C7th monastery founded by St Wilfrid with its crypt said to be the oldest surviving structure of any cathedral in England.
Can you spot the hand to help the organist signal the choir?
It also has a misericord of a griffin and a couple of rabbits, one heading down a rabbit hole is said to have inspired Lewis Carrol whose father was a canon here.
Enough pottering, it was time to get on the road as there was a long drive head. There was plenty of time to reflect on how lucky we had been with the weather and how quiet it was considering it is still the middle of August! There is still so much more to see and I’m sure this won’t be our last trip north.
Finding ourselves with a spare day, we decided to visit England’s most northern border town, Berwick on Tweed which changed hands between England and Scotland 13 times before being permanently retaken by England in 1482. It is famous for its unique bastioned town walls built by Elizabeth I which are still complete and we planned to walk round the ramparts.
As we sat having coffee at the quayside, we also found out that Berwick was a favourite destination for L S Lowry who was a regular visitor here and made many images of the town. The Lowry Trail enables visitors to follow in his footsteps so we thought we’d keep an eye out for them.
We found the first board as we joined the walls at Bridge End and took our own photo to compare!
There were some handsome Georgian houses and the Custom House along the first section …
… and also a good view of Berwick’s three bridges over the Tweed. The closest is the Old Bridge, built of sandstone in 1624 and still carrying traffic, next is the Royal Tweed Bridge built in 1925 to carry the AI and behind is Stephenson’s Royal Tweed Bridge from 1850, a railway viaduct with 28 arches.
Then we came to the main guardhouse which is the beginning of the Elizabethan walls …
… and they became much thicker, with wide ramparts.
The pier featured in another of Lowry’s sketches and it has hardly changed …
… nor has the house he considered buying called The Lions, which he rejected as it was rampant with damp!
We were only halfway round, but getting hungry, so we made a break for Bridge Street where we had been told there were some lovely shops and eateries. Atelier proved perfect for lunch, and I tucked into another plate of mussels!
As for the shops, there was Lucy selling her own hand made paper, another offering fabrics for dressmaking as well hand dyed yarn from local sheep and classes to learn to use both, a haberdashers, and then there was Jennie with all things woolly!
I couldn’t resist a couple of balls of the selvedge trim, especially some in a blue/green that I fell in love with. These are made from the edges of textile cloth which are trimmed off after weaving. I wasn’t quite sure what I was doing to do with them, but she gave me some ideas and I bought some large knitting needles as well!
Time to get back to the wall, which was becoming more impressive.
Here is the magazine for keeping gunpowder …
… the Windmill Bastion …
… and the stretch down to the Brass Bastion with the garrison on the left, at present closed.
Finally we reach Meg’s Mount with a lovely view of the viaduct.
We also spotted another board, this time with a bird’s eye view of the high street and town hall.
We wandered round the centre, had a cuppa and found a final board down a back alley.
Time to go, but being so close to the border, we couldn’t resist a quick trip to Scotland, just to take photos of the border posts!
That evening I experimented knitting the trim which has a little mohair in it and feels lovely to work with … I’m just not quite sure what it will be!
Next day was our last in Seahouses and we spent it with Heather & Stuart finding out more about their new home on the Ford & Etal estate, where their cottage has views across to the Cheviot Hills.
They took us to the pretty village of Ford which is famed locally for the Lady Waterford Hall, built as a school in 1860.
Lady Louisa had been widowed young, and threw herself into philanthropic work for the community during her life at Ford Castle, now a youth centre.
She was also an accomplished artist inspired by the Pre-Raphaelites, many of whom were friends such as Rossetti, Ruskin and Millais and decorated the hall with watercolour murals of biblical scenes, which took some 20 years to complete.
We also saw the monument to her husband by Gilbert Scott …
… and her grave which was designed by GF Watts and his wife Mary.
We had lunch in a bus at the Chain Bridge Honey Farm …
… but then rain brought our outing to an end, so with more to see, it looks like we’ll need to make a return trip!
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.
Today we went to visit a castle that’s not a castle, on an island that’s not an island!
Holy Island or Lindisfarne is a tidal island and can be visited at low tide by taking the 3 mile walking route called the Pilgrims Way marked by wooden poles across the mudflats, or by car along the causeway built in the 1950s. At any other time, a boat is the only option.
Having checked out the tide tables, we had a window of six hours so we were heading over the causeway at 9.50, as early as it was safe to go. We parked and signs reminded us to check our safe departure time.
There were a few drops of rain as we walked through the up to Lindisfarne Castle which is run by the National Trust.
Across the harbour, we could see two tall pointed towers which we later found out are the Old Law Beacons. Sailors lined them up to steer their ship safely into harbour keeping clear of shallow sandbars, and they didn’t need to be lit as entering at night was too dangerous.
In 1901, Edward Hudson, founder of Country Life magazine, fell in love with the derelict Tudor fort built high on a large rock and engaged his friend Edwin Lutyens, a young and upcoming architect to convert it into an Arts & Crafts style holiday home. The fort had been built by the Tudors to protect first against the Scots and then the French but had been empty for years so a fair bit of work was needed.
We were handed a postcard …
Once up the ramp …
… we entered the lower battery where the facade blends original Tudor stonework with new mullions and lintels of local pink sandstone as well as arches added above the windows.
Inside, Lutyens has played with proportions, ensuring a snug homely feel with low doorways and winding passages. The entrance hall features this colourful wind direction indicator commissioned for the house … and a suggestion of what the weather can be like here!
This is the kitchen, domain of Jack and Hannah Lilburn who began the three-generation relationship as housekeepers for the castle’s owners …
… the dining room with its cavernous fireplace …
… and the Ship Room used as a drawing room.
There were seven bedrooms in all including Hudson’s …
… and one for Madame Suggia, a famous Portuguese cellist and Hudson’s fiancé.
From the Upper Battery where gun emplacements can still be seen, there is a great view out towards the ruined Priory which we will visit next.
The facade features clustered chimneys, a Lutyens favourite, and more mullioned windows, looking so modern!
Once complete, Hudson only used the castle for brief visits during a six week period in the summer, often inviting guests including famous artists, writers, and high-society figures. His guests enjoyed champagne and long dinners, though some complained the lack of comfortable seating and modern comfort and organised entertainment!
On our way out, we noticed the portcullis, a small touch added by Hudson to add to the medieval charm!
By 1921 though, Hudson decided to sell, possibly due to high running costs, but also that his intended heir had been killed in the war. The two later owners kept the Lutyens design and it was given to the National Trust in 1944.
In the 19th Century, Lindisfarne had a long-established lime-burning industry, and the kilns by the castle still survive.
Limestone quarried from the island was layered with coal brought in by ship and burnt to make quicklime. It would have been a hot, smelly and dangerous job and men often suffered caustic burns and lung damage and in the peace,of today, it’s hard to imagine such a horrid industrial site being here.
As we walked back towards the village …
… we passed a small walled garden, once the garrison vegetable plot.
In 1911 Gertrude Jekyll planted a garden of perennials to be colourful especially during August when the castle was most visited and was quite an achievement in such a remote spot.
The village is pretty small and most shops were closed as it was Sunday, but The Crown & Anchor was a perfect spot for a late lunch and we munched sandwiches in the garden.
Our last stop was the ruined priory, which we’d seen from the castle.
In 635 AD, King Oswald gave Holy Island to St Aidan to establish a monastery, and it soon became a renowned centre of Christianity and learning. St Cuthbert became Lindisfarne’s greatest saint and, following his death, the island developed into an important place of pilgrimage. The magnificent Lindisfarne Gospels were created here before Viking raids brought devastation to the community. This stone depicts a procession of men armed with axes and swords and may commemorate that Viking raid.
Monastic life eventually returned with the building of the Norman priory, which continued until the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Today it is a ruin … with St Cuthbert’s original resting place marked with a stone.
And when the sun came out, the dark red sandstone shone!
Our sightseeing done, we were back over the causeway with plenty of time to spare and we drove back through some lovely countryside …
… then stopped at the Coop to put together a picky tea and we spent the evening in with Ride or Die on Prime!
The weather has been great with sunny intervals and a light breeze, perfect for a boat trip so we headed down to the harbour so Billy Shiel could take us round the Farne islands.
Huge numbers of seabirds come here to breed including Puffins, Razorbills & Kittiwakes and these Pinnacle Rocks are a favourite. It is late summer now and most have left, although the fishy aroma of the rocks remains as do the grey seals.
We also saw two lighthouses, this one on Inner Farne, the island where St Cuthbert lived in solitude and prayer …
… and the Longstone Lighthouse on Outer Farne where Grace Darling lived and from which she and her father rowed out to make their rescue.
We could see Bamburgh in the distance as we returned …
… then picked up some bits for a quick lunch, namely a crab sandwich from the harbour for me, then set off to Alnwick for the afternoon.
Henry de Percy became the 1st Lord Percy of Alnwick after acquiring the castle and barony in 1309.
Over the following decades, it was transformed it into a mighty border fortress, with strong towers and a well-defended curtain wall.
By the C15th the Barbican was both the main entrance to Alnwick Castle and a first line of defence and following a series of sieges during the Wars of the Roses, the 4th Earl of Northumberland added his badge to the archway.
Alnwick was used less by the Percy family over the following years and had fallen into disrepair until the heiress Elizabeth Percy and her husband Hugh, returned to Alnwick. They restored the castle as their northern seat, creating a grand palace in the fashionable Gothic style with grounds by Capability Brown and in 1766 were made the 1st Duke and Duchess of Northumberland by King George III.
After taking the grand tour, the 4th Duke wanted the lavish style of the Italian Renaissance reproduced in the state rooms which we walked round but couldn’t photograph, but here is the library and dining room from their website.
Today Alnwick is home to Ralph Percy, the 12th duke and the castle is visited by many to see the location of films such as Harry Potter and Downton and broomstick training was in progress in the outer bailey!
We listened to a movie magic tour, telling us various tales such as how the fake snow made of paper and water paste for the scene of Hagrid dragging the Xmas tree into Hogwarts ended up drying out and blowing all over Alnwick town during filming and also how the huge tv screen in the library had to be concealed for the Downton Xmas special.
The late afternoon made the most of the honey coloured stone as we took a last picture from the best viewpoint.
That evening, walking back after dinner, we ran into the lifeboat being launched to help a yacht which had been caught up in fishing nets.
Next day their Facebook page reported the yacht had been safely detached then towed back to harbour for repairs. The Seahouses lifeboat has an average of 42 call outs a year, sadly many to rescue people stranded on the Lindisfarne causeway when they should know better, which is why we have researched tomorrows outing most carefully!
Another day … another castle … and today we are off to Bamburgh, just ten minutes up the road. It looks very imposing, sitting high on a cliff.
First home to a fort of the Celtic Britons called Din Guarie, it was captured by the Anglian King, Ida the Flamebearer in 547AD. His grandson named it Bebbanburg after his queen, and for centuries, this was the Royal Capital of the Kingdom of Northumbria until devastating Viking raids in 993AD ransacked and burned the ancient Anglo-Saxon royal citadel. When the Normans came in the C12th, they built the stone keep as a border garrison against the Scots and it remained a royal castle, protecting the border until it came under cannon fire in the War of the Roses.
After centuries of withstanding assault, it was the first castle in England to be destroyed by gunfire. Later, no longer required by the Crown, it was given to the Forster family, and when the last heir married Lord Crewe, a trust was set up which enabled it to be restored for the community providing a hospital, school and even the first coastguard station. By 1894, the money ran out and it was sold to William Armstrong, the industrialist and owner of Cragside, who demolished the Georgian additions and rebuilt the medieval hall as his legacy.
It remains in the family’s care today, and the present owner who used to be a volunteer RNLI crew member with Seahouses Lifeboat, is very proud that the first ever lifeboat was commissioned and launched at Bamburgh by Dr John Sharp, a trustee at the Castle in 1786.
The hall is certainly impressive, with a vaulted wooden roof and panelling, decorated with tapestries, paintings and treasures.
We also went through part of the keep, the oldest part of the castle.
Afterwards we walked into the town for some lunch …
… then went to the Grace Darling museum to find out more about Bamburgh’s heroine and how she helped in the rescue of 9 people from the doomed SS Forfarshire in 1838 when she was only 22.
We saw the cobble she rowed …
… then went to the parish church …
… where there is a memorial and a window.
We took a walk along the dunes and enjoyed the powdery sand and even had a paddle …
… before taking a photo of the castle and wending our way back.
Our last pic of the day was the sunset from Seahouses beach after dinner.
After a busy couple of days, we began with a slow start and a potter round Seahouses. The tide was out and the sun was shining as we made our way to the harbour.
We saw visitors waiting to take a trip to the Farne Islands, visible on the horizon and the Seahouses Whalebones which had been found washed up on the beach some years ago.
Seahouses is traditionally the home of the kipper, a herring which is split flat, salted and cold smoked. Fish had been smoked for years, but the modern kipper was popularized here in 1843 by John Woodger and the growth of the railways allowed lightly smoked, perishable kippers to reach British breakfast tables quickly and safely. Hopefully there will be an opportunity to try out a kipper roll during our stay.
Later, we went to meet Heather & Stuart in Carnaby’s, a cafe they recommended midway between us. Heather and I met at school and realised we’ve now known each other for over 50 years and it was good to have a catch up over a delicious lunch. She and Stuart recently moved to a cottage on the Ford Etal estate and we are looking forward to spending a day with them next week.
A bit of a walk seemed a plan, so we drove and parked at Craster. We took the path through the village, past another smokehouse …
… to the harbour …
… and along the coast, watching as Dunstanburgh Castle got closer the further we walked!
The castle was built in 1313 by Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, who was cousin of the king and leader of the political opposition to him. It was meant as a show of power, situated on a headland, and visible from the royal castle of Bamburgh just down the coast. Thomas led a rebellion against Edward II but was defeated and executed in 1322.
It was then given to John of Gaunt who updated the fortress and it continued a northern stronghold until it suffered heavy damage during the Wars of the Roses. It later fell into ruin and is managed by English Heritage who told us it is the most remote property they look after as it the one furthest from a public road. We looked round the ruins …
… then walked the curtain wall for sea views before a restorative ice cream to set us up for the walk back.
We spent the morning driving further north, enjoying the views over the English countryside in late summer, a patchwork of golden harvested fields bordered with green hedgerows. We came upon a glimpse of the Angel of the North rather suddenly and taking snaps from the car is always tricky, so we’ll make a point to stop in the way back for a proper look.
We didn’t want to delay as we were eager to get to Cragside, the dramatic Victorian country house built for the inventor and industrialist Lord William Armstrong and his wife Margaret. They shared a vision of a dream home set within a landscape of trees and lakes, and blends pioneering technology with grand Tudor Revival architecture designed by Norman Shaw. It was also the first home in the world to be lit by hydroelectricity.
At present, there is an extensive conservation project to repair and renovate the roof so a lot is hidden behind scaffolding but some of the main architectural features of the exterior can still be seen like the Tudor style chimney stacks, half timbered walls, Gothic arched doorways and stone mullioned windows.
The visitor route took us first to the kitchen where there were several modern labour saving devices including a water-powered roasting spit over the range and a hand-operated dumb waiter in the far corner.
There was even an early dishwasher set above the sink!
There was no excuse to be late for dinner at Cragside as the butler sound the electric dinner gong with the touch of a button …
… and the dining room had an ingenious Capstan table which could be extended with extra sections to seat up to 12 people.
But the part of the house I loved best was this cosy Arts & Crafts inglenook fireplace decorated with stained glass panels of the seasons designed by William Morris.
There was more stained glass in the library, but we couldn’t get very close and the contents of the room had all been pushed together to facilitate the scaffolding.
Downstairs we were surprised to find Cragside comes with its own Turkish Bath suite which features a hot room, steam bath, cooling-room, shower and plunge pool … how lovely!
Once we started going round the upper rooms, they were all a little dark, mainly due to the conservation blinds, but we got a glimpse out of a window at the iron bridge below and it’s obvious how large the surrounding trees have grown so while there may once have been vistas, now it feels a little oppressive.
William and Mary Armstrong had no children, so their great-nephew, William Watson Armstrong inherited and these two bedrooms were used by his children William and Winifred.
In preparation for a royal visit from the Prince and Princess of Wales in 1884, an extension was built with the lavish Owl Suite for the royal couple …
… and also a new drawing room with this colossal marble and alabaster fireplace. It was a mark of Armstrong’s success and Cragside’s fame that the future King Edward VIl chose to stay at the home of an industrialist who was not yet a lord.
In 1878 Armstrong experimented with lighting the house with electricity, using arc lamps in the gallery which was apparently splendid but also unreliable, noisy, smelly and dangerous. By 1880 the Library became the first domestic room in the world to be illuminated with incandescent light bulbs invented by Joseph Swan. The lights would be ‘turned on’ by placing cloisonné vases acting as bulb holders into charged bowls of mercury. The copper sides of the vases acted like ‘return wires’ and hey presto there was light, but bowls of mercury round the house doesn’t sound much safer either!
We left the house and took a walk round part of the estate and garden which included a rock garden …
… and gorge leading down to the river.
From the iron bridge we were able to get a pretty good view of the back of Cragside.
Finally, before we left, we saw the modern Archimedes screw, installed by the National Trust in 2014 to continue Armstrong’s legacy of lighting Cragside with hydroelectric power. Water from the lake flows through turning the blades and this energy is sufficient to light the 350 light bulbs in the house.
As we left, we took the 6 mile carriage drive, designed to show off the estate to visitors although original vistas seem to have overgrown except this one over the moors.
A short drive brought us to Seahouses where we are staying in an ideal holiday apartment right in the centre of town… with a parking space!
No sooner had we settled in, it was time to wander down to the beach to see if we could catch a glimpse of the much advertised solar eclipse, the first since 1999. Clouds obscured much of the event, but here’s the view towards Bamburgh …
Our trip north includes several English Heritage sites so when a special offer for annual membership appeared we snapped it up and looked to see if we couldn’t include a couple of extras.
That has brought us here to Bolsover Castle in Derbyshire, which was founded in the late C11th by William Peveril, one of William the Conqueror’s knights. Abandoned in the C14th, it was transformed in 1612 into a luxurious Jacobean mansion and entertainment palace by Sir Charles Cavendish and his son William to impress and entertain. It became a lavish showpiece packed with grand interiors, theatrical flair and remarkable artwork.
As an example, in July 1634 William invited all the gentry of the county to attend a royal entertainment at Bolsover. With lavish feasting, the total cost of the visit was around £14,000, nearing William’s total annual income.
The remaining centrepiece is the Little Castle with its medieval turrets and towers, surrounded by the restored wall walk with a garden and fountain of Venus in the middle,
It still has the original wood panelling and alabaster fireplaces …
… and is decorated with wall paintings and painted panelling with classical mythology and Christian themes.
This aerial view shows the now ruined state apartments at the bottom.
We walked through to the gallery to the terrace with its amazing view of the countryside.
William Cavendish was riding master to King Charles II and the last block of buildings contains the oldest surviving indoor riding school in the country. He disagreed with harsh training, instead showing how gentler methods were more successful and is considered the father of modern dressage.
There was also plenty of information about the history of the family and the castle.
We had lunch in the cafe then continued our drive north to Yorkshire. A couple of hours later, we arrived in Richmond and checked in to the Castle Tavern, right in the centre of town overlooking market place and the castle.
Richmond Castle dominates the town and was built by Alan Rufus, the 1st Lord of Richmond who was a Breton nobleman and kinsman to William the Conqueror, but unfortunately we were too late and it was closed.
Instead we wandered round the town to stretch our legs and were interested by the obelisk. It was built in 1771 to replace a dilapidated medieval market cross, possibly inspired by a similar obelisk in Ripon. It also marks the spot of a 12,000 gallon underwater reservoir beneath the cobbles which was filled from springs above the town and supplied the water until 1837.
We had a lovely meal in the Black Lion …
… then went for a stroll to the Fosse, a series of limestone cascades in the River Swale.
We were ready and waiting when Richmond Castle opened and climbed to the top of the keep for great views of the town and surrounding countryside.
Then it was back to the car … next stop Northumberland!
