Heading To England: Day 2 – Scotland 2017
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7 April 2017
After absolutely killing our first day in Scotland, we woke up exhausted after a handful of hours’ sleep. We had breakfast downstairs with our Australian friends and then took the tram back to the airport to pick up our rental car. It took much longer than planned, but eventually, we picked a little black and white car that we promptly named Barnaby. And yes, for the smattering of British TV fans following us, we named him after the iconic Barnaby in Midsomer Murders. With our trusty car ready for adventure, we headed off to England!
On The Road
On our way to Alnwick, we decided to stop off at Bamburgh Castle. We were supposed to meet our Australian pals there, but we missed them due to the hold-up getting our car. We stopped at the castle anyway, not being keen on missing out. The first thing we fell in love with? Being back on these kinds of roads:
Second thing we fell in love with? Bamburgh Castle.
Bamburgh Castle
As you drive down the lane, Bamburgh Castle starts to peek out from behind the trees before showing itself in full view. We were blown away from the first glimpse! Bamburgh Castle is one of the largest inhabited castles in England and has been standing watch in Northumbria in some form or fashion for over 1,400 years. The history of this site is long and deep, scarred with battles and plagued with ghost stories. I could go on for days, but instead, I’ll send you here to check out the history!
The short version goes like this: The earliest historical mention was in 547AD. It got attacked. A LOT. Once taken from the kings of Northumbria, it was used as a stronghold to launch against the Scottish. That happened around 1100AD and is also when the keep was erected. Many British kings stayed here. During the War of the Roses, it became the first castle in England to be destroyed by gunfire. The castle passed into private hands in the 1600s but was so expensive to maintain that it fell into ruin. At one point, it operated as a coast guard station. William Armstrong bought the castle with the intent of restoring it, but he died before he could. His great-nephew finished it for him and the castle still remains in the Armstrong Family, beautifully restored and open to the public.
Exploring Bamburgh Castle
One could easily spend an entire day wandering through the castle and grounds. In fact, we’d recommend it. There are countless rooms and hallways to turn inside out, and each is filled with enough artifacts to keep you busy for hours. On top of the amazing keep itself, you can also visit the aviation museum, victorian stables, archaeology museum, and much more across the castle grounds. You can also eat lunch on the grounds, which we happily did. Looking back, we missed so much! I hope we get to go back someday because I’d also love to take part in one of their World War 2 walks! It is a three-mile walk where you get to learn about events that happened along the coastline and the weapons and kit used by those that served. That’s right up our alley!
Now presenting, a photo overload!
Pushing on to Alnwick
When our tour of Bamburgh was done, we drove on to Alnwick, England, where our reunion was to be held. Alnwick is such a cute town and we quickly found our way to The White Swan Hotel. This is such a special hotel, especially for our group. Our next post will be dedicated to the history of the hotel, so stay tuned for that! For now, just know it is beautiful.
We met up with our Titanic Memorial Cruise (TMC) reunion group that evening in the hotel. It was so wonderful to be back in each other’s company, and we spent the night catching up. Laughter was in abundance, and it was like we’d only spent days apart, not years. Later in the night, most people headed off to bed, but I stayed up with a small group to build a puzzle in the dining room. It’s the simple things, really. Building puzzles with a group of friends in an old hotel in England. Perfection.
Cheers,
Lydia and Billy
