Castles

Alnwick castle was built in around 1096 after the Noman Conquest of England although has undergone many refurbishments since then. The castle was sold to the Percy family in 1307 and they have owned it since. The current owner is Ralph Percy 12th Duke of Northumberland.

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Bamburgh Castle is an imposing structure built on a solid base of volcanic stone. There has been a fort here since aound the year 420 with the acutal fortress being built in around 1095.

In 1894 the Victorian industrialist William Armstrong bought the Castle and its been with the Armstrong family since.

Armstrong is a pretty serious name in the history of weapons and transport in the UK. Armstrong Siddeley – Vickers Armstrong – British Aerospace – BAE Systems

Grace Horsley Darling (1815 – 1842) was an English lighthouse keeper’s daughter. Her participation in the rescue of survivors from the shipwrecked Forfarshire in 1838 brought her national fame.

In the TV series “The Last Kingdom” This castle is referred to with its Saxon name of Bebbanburg. The clothing used during the TV series is on display.

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We had an early start to cross the causeway to Holy Island (Lindisfarne) you have to monitor the flood times and travel in the window for that day, is this case we had until 9am to get across and it would then be flooded until 12:55pm – we went early and were on the island by 8am and left again when the causeway reopened in the afternoon.