| June 17, 2008 | |
| Alnwick
Castle struck me for three reasons: first, for its beauty and the
excellent way in which it is kept, the exibitions, the children area, etc;
second, for being the location of so many movies, from Harry Potter
to Elizabeth; and third, because the Percy family still lives
inside it, and a colour photo of the 12th Duke welcomes visitors at the
entrance. Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland (1449-1489), was at Bosworth commanding Richard III's rear-guard, but did not fight in the battle, for treason of for material impediment is unknown. It's a sore lesson that Richard's main castles, Middleham, Fotheringhay, Barnard, are now just ruins, while Northumberland's castles are in perfect conditions and attract many more visitors than Richard's. Anyway, the place was fabulous. I skipped the main building, which I know displays finely furnished rooms, and did a tour around the walls, watching the birds of prey exibition, delighted to walk on the grass where Harry Potter's Quidditch scenes were filmed, and ended into the children area and the Horror House. |
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Birds of prey exibition |
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Knight's Quest |
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Shooting blockbusters in Alnwick |
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| previous stop: Hadrian's Wall |
next day: Lindisfarne |
