| | Today Carolyn, Billy, Dan, and I went to Raby Castle in Staindrop, County Durham. Apparently it was quite busy compared to what it normally is (slight inside joke there) but it was Easter so we weren't particularly surprised. Initial impressions were interesting, particularly because I couldn't see any walls, just a gatehouse (see left). Anyway after parking, we decided to walk into the castle and have a quick tour around. I wrote a 17-page research paper analyzing Templar castles and military tactics last semester, so getting to visit a castle instead of just looking at them in a book was quite nice. Don't get me wrong, I've been to dozens of castles before (thanks mum), but never having done a great deal of research beforehand. |
It is a really cool castle, but I can't show you any of it because photography wasn't allowed inside. I can say that it's easy to spend a couple of hours there, especially if you read all of the material in the various rooms. My favourite part about the whole thing was what we dubbed the "man cave" whose purpose was the equivalent in the middle ages. Another neat thing about the architecture was that while it had been built in the mid-1300s, but has been changed, updated, and renovated throughout the centuries.
| After we left the castle, we took a quick walk on the grounds and went to the gardens. These were very pretty, with ornamental bushes and plenty of flowers. Since it was Easter, there was an Easter egg treasure hunt for kids as well as a poor man in a bunny suit to haunt their dreams (see right). Billy, Dan and I got distracted by the old, bright-orange mechanical plow, and lost Carolyn. It turns out she had gone to the tea room, having gotten bored of us I suppose, so after looking for about 10 minutes we finally found her having a lemonade (Americans: fizzy, Sprite-like drink). Great day out and I really loved spending time with Dan and my adopted parents, Billy and Carolyn. | |
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