Day 7 Castles, Castles, Castles

Today was castle day. We traveled north for 50 miles to Alnwick to see the castle that was the setting for many of the outside shots in the Harry Potter movies (see Alnwick Castle in photo to left). From there we traveled 30 miles further north to Bamburgh Castle. After a guided tour of the castle we headed south to Seahouses (a quaint seaside town full of fish houses and tourist shops) for lunch. Most of the team tried the local fish and chips (your choice of cod or haddock) and it was all washed down with some soft serve ice cream. We then headed back north for 20 miles to visit Holy Island, home of Lindisfarne Castle and the Lindisfarne Priory. By this time the boys were "castled" out and after an hour on the island, we returned to Durham for dinner at 6:45. On the bus ride home Amo sacked out in the small sleeping cabin in the luggage bay.

Bamburgh Castle (photo on right) stands on a basalt outcrop on the very edge of the North Sea, dominating the local harbor and the entire Northumberland coastline as well as offering exceptional views of the Farnes Islands and Holy Island. The castle has been extensively restored, first by Lord Crewe in the 1750's and more recently by the 1st Lord Armstrong at the end of the 19th century. We took a guided tour of the castle and visited the King's Hall, the Cross Hall reception rooms, the Bakehouse, as well as the Armoury and Dungeon. I think the boys enjoyed the armory and dungeon the best. They were amazed by the weight of the armour, the sinister nature of the weapons and the deplorable conditions in the dungeon.

Holy Island (photo left and below) is separated from the mainland by a 3 mile causeway and can only be accessed ten hours a day due to the tides. The island is widely considered as the cradle of northern England's Christianity. Lindisfarne Castle was built around 1550 as a fort to protect the local harbor. Founded by St Aidan AD 635, founder of the Celtic Church in England, the Lindisfarne Priory has been a place of pilgrimage for over 1300 years. The monastery lays in ruins today and offers a rich history of the monks who lived on the island, including the famous St Cuthbert the greatest of Northumbrian holy men, who lived and died there. After departing the bus the boys split up to explore the island with some heading out to the point to visit the castle while others visited the shops in the villages. By 3:30 everybody was well tuckered out and we boarded the bus for the 90 minute ride home.