Here is our second fortnightly selection of Northern English Castles. Enjoy touring them online, or even better put something in your diary for a real “in the flesh” visit. The picture to the left is of Brougham Castle by the River Eamont in Cumbria, just outside Penrith. This was one of several castles in Cumbria restored by Lady Anne Clifford following the seventeenth century Civil War. We’ll feature it in a later issue.

Today’s Northern Castles Selection

Skipton Castle, West Yorkshire: This remarkably well-preserved castle now owned by a local family was first built in the 12th century and became the seat of the wealthy Cliffords from 1310. It remained in Clifford ownership until after the death in 1676 of the redoubtable Lady Anne Clifford, Countess of Pembroke, who had it restored following substantial demolition after a three year Civil War seige.

Muncaster Castle, Cumbria: The Pennington family have lived at Muncaster since 1208 and for many years have welcomed visitors. Set in 70 acres of gardens against the backcloth of the Cumbrian Lake District mountains Muncaster Castle is popular with visitors to the western coast of Lakeland. The narrow gauge Ravenglass Railway is only a mile or two away. Oh, and don’t miss the World Owl Centre.

Raby Castle, County Durham: This was the fortress of the Nevills (or Nevilles), possibly the most powerful family in the North when it was built in the 14th century; later extended by the Vane family who have lived here for almost four hundred years. With walled gardens, a deer park, carriage museum and much more, Raby is great for all the family.

Northern English Castles Mystery Tour

If you haven’t tried my “Castles Mystery Tour” (or even if you have) try it here by clicking: Mystery Castle. You can never tell what castle you’ll be taken to; it’s all randomised. At present there are twenty four castles listed, with more to follow.

Local Accommodation

If after choosing your castle visit you plan to stay overnight in the area check out these accommodation services:   Hotels   -   B&B accommodation

Some related pages:

• Castles of the North [1]
• Historic Houses and Castles in Cumbria
• Visit a Northern England Castle – A Mystery Tour

I don’t often on this site post blog articles that are blatantly promotional, but this is an exception. In the present economic climate many people, especially with families, are having to think very carefully about holiday expenditure and many have not yet decided what to do. Four or five airfares from Britain to the Mediterranean no longer seem quite so affordable. On the other hand, the cost of a car journey to somewhere in the UK is pretty well the same whether one or four seats are occupied. The same also goes for a self-catering holiday cottage. Whether you have two or four people in a two-bed cottage the price is the same.

Self-Catering Holidays

Yes, there are pros and cons to self catering. There is the question of cooking and washing up. Does Mrs. Holidaymaker want to do all the same things that she usually does at home? (Am I being sexist? No, just realistic. That’s how the division of home labour commonly works out.) Anyway, that’s something to sort out between yourselves before you go – and then stick to the arrangement! Overall, though, the flexibility of self-catering accommodation is very appealing to many people.

Come to the North

The North of England presents a vast range of possibilities. From the Lake District in the west to the splendid Northumbrian coast on the east the North has a wealth of things to do and places to see of which the majority of British people, after years of trips to southern sun, seem to be seriously unaware. I well recall some years ago driving a London-based colleague from Manchester airport to West Cumbria and being faced with amazement at the distance we travelled and the places we passed. Lakes, mountains, rivers, castles, museums, galleries, beaches, cliff top walks, fishing, mountain biking, climbing, sailing, Roman forts on Hadrians Wall, … in the North the list can go on and on. There is no need to fly off to distant lands to have a splendid family holiday.

Cheap Cottage Holidays in the North

And that brings me back to price. Certainly it is possible to spend a lot on a Northern holiday. There are hotels up to four or five stars in many places. However, there are also much more affordable, and yet excellent quality, guest house and B&B options. But I started with self-catering cottages, and I’ll finish with what many today are looking for – cheap holiday cottages. In Lake District villages, in the Yorkshire Dales and many other beautiful areas of the North there is affordable accommodation for your family holiday at many different price levels. Why not explore the North this year? If you’ve not been before you might well be very pleasantly surprised.

Do you recognise this castle? Hint: The young Richard III once lived here.

A major castle visit can give an excellent day out, or one of the smaller castles can be combined with other attractions, a scenic walk in the neighbourhood, or exploration of the local town. I trust you will you enjoy this first fortnightly selection of castles and hope it might trigger some fresh ideas for a trip out with family or friends whether you live in the North or are planning a holiday visit.

Four Castles of the North – A Fortnightly Selection [1]

Sizergh Castle, Cumbria: Back in the days of Henry II the Strickland family built the first house at Sizergh, just to the south of Kendal, and they still live there today, although the property was gifted to the National Trust in 1950. The huge defensive pele tower was probably erected somewhere around 1350 and remains a key part of the now larger structure substantially developed in Elizabethan times.

Barnard Castle, County Durham: An imposing castle dating from the 12th century, now in the care of English Heritage. From high up above the River Tees it looks down on the magnificent Tees Gorge. Barnard Castle also has an interesting old town centre to explore, with its historic market cross, and nearby is the celebrated Bowes Museum.

Lindisfarne Castle, Northumberland: Lindisfarne Castle is not so old as most others mentioned here, being originally a small Tudor fort dating from around 1570. Now in the care of the National Trust the present Arts and Crafts styled house was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens as a holiday home for a client, retaining much of the old fort. Lindisfarne Castle stands proud on Holy Island close to the ruins of Lindisfarne priory and monastery, home to the 7th/8th century English historian the Venerable Bede.

Richmond Castle, North Yorkshire: This fine and remarkably well-preserved Norman fortress on the northern fringe of the Yorkshire Dales National park has inspired painters, including J.M.W. Turner, for more than two centuries. High above the River Swale it commands outstanding views over the surrounding countryside. Enjoy the contemporary Heritage Garden, and explore the town with its Georgian architecture and cobbled market place.

Northern English Castles Mystery Tour

On the blog yesterday I launched my “Castles Mystery Tour”. Try it again now by clicking here: Mystery Castle. You never know what might come up on the next screen; it’s all randomised. Currently there are twenty four castles, with more to come.

Local Accommodation

If after choosing your castle visit you plan to stay overnight in the area check out these accommodation services:    Hotels   -   B&B accommodation

Some related pages:

• Historic Houses and Castles in Cumbria
• Visit a Northern England Castle – A Mystery Tour

Whether you’re on the east or the west of Northern England this weekend (5th May) you can “Go Georgian”.

In Cockermouth, on the northern edge of the Lake District National Park, there is the biennial Cockermouth Georgian Fair. With music and displays of many kinds including period crafts and farmers market this promises to be a splendid day out.

Across in Northumberland at Belsay Hall they are starting a month of events under the theme, “Fashion from the Past”. Displays of Tudor courtly costumes and presentations on dressing the Georgians continue throughout the month.

So if you fancy a dip into the past “Go Georgian” this weekend.

Accommodation:    Cockermouth area   -   Near Belsay Hall

Looking for ideas for a day out? The northern half of England has many splendid castles. Here I’ve put together a set of twentyfour, each of which can provide a good day or half-day out. They are spread from north Lincolnshire upwards, and from coast to coast as far as the Scottish border. Some have extensive exhibitions and grounds; others are simply in beautiful locations.

No, I’m not going to give a you a list. This will be a mystery tour. You’ll never know which one you might be taken to. Click here for your North of England Mystery Castle

Do you recognise the one below? Yes? No? Maybe? Well, I’d estimate you have about a one in thirty chance of being taken to it when you click above – but you won’t see it from the same angle.

Towneley Hall, Burnley was built over many centuries, from the early-15th to the 19th, as home to the Towneley family. Historically, although many have been eminent public servants, the most famous member of the family was possibly Charles Towneley, the 18th century collector whose marbles and brasses form an important part of collections at the British Museum where he was an early trustee.

Probably the best known of the modern branches of the family have been the journalist Sir Peregrine Worsthorne (Worsthorne being the name of a village just over the hill facing Towneley Hall) and his brother Sir Simon Towneley (he changed his name to realign with the family history and lived close by Towneley at Dyneley Hall) who was Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire from 1976 to 1996

Towneley Hall Today

Towneley Hall, 2012

Having initially been acquired as an almost empty property, the collections built over the years are outstanding, ranging from furniture, textiles, local history, sculpture and paintings in the galleries at which I used to gaze for hours as a teenager living nearby (not to mention the big stuffed brown bear that was the main attraction as a child, and is still there). In recent years the National Heritage Memorial Fund has supported the purchase of an 1807 Carrara marble bust of Charles Towneley, by Joseph Nollekens, so that it could be restored to Towneley Hall the collector’s former family home.

Whether spending hours exploring the museum and galleries, or wandering through the woods, or across the parkland to the young River Calder, an afternoon at Towneley is an afternoon well spent. It is one of East Lancashire’s special gems – indeed, to my mind, supremely so. There are many marvellous countryside walks near Towneley both up into the hills and along the Cliviger Gorge. Here now is a selection from this past Monday morning.

Towneley Hall, Burnley, East Lancashire - April 2012

Towneley Hall - Looking over the lawn from the West

Townley Hall - Looking over the Italian Garden to the South Wing

The Cenotaph, Towneley Hall, Burnley - Looking east over the Italian Garden

Towneley Hall - Looking west from the hall up to Foldys Cross

Recent news from around the Lake District includes a story in the Westmorland Gazette that the National Park Authority is now looking forward to further plans for the future of its Brockhole visitor centre by the shore of Windermere. Much has been done over the past year or so but we can look forward to imaginative new plans to unfold over the coming years.

A TEAM led by one of the country’s leading firms of landscape architects has been appointed to map out and design the next phase in the major redevelopment of Brockhole, the Lake District Visitor Centre on the shores of Windermere….
More from the Westmorland Gazette at:
Company has designs on future of Brockhole

Another piece of very welcome news is that the Via Ferrata at Honister Slate Mine has been shortlisted for a national tourism award. Especially given the ridiculous penalisation of Honister last year, and the refusal of planning permission for their proposed zip wire, it is to be hoped that they win the award. Maybe then (hoping against hope!) both bureaucratic and populist opponents of progress in Lake District tourism will begin to realise that they’re fighting against informed opinion.

Anyway, back to the Via Ferrata. For anyone who doesn’t know what this is I include here the brief description given by the newspaper, but there’s much more at: Honister Via Ferrata

The via ferrata offers an access route to the top of Fleetwith Pike and involves people scured by harnesses edging along the historic cliff-edge using metal ladders, hand rungs and bridges to reach the summit, which offers stunning views over Buttermere and Crummock Water….
More, again from the Westmorland Gazette, at:
Via ferrata at Honister shortlisted for national tourism gong

That’s it for today, folks. I’ve probably upset some of my readers yet again, but I promise never to shrink from expressing clearly my views about what is best for this beautiful region – and that is not to “preserve it in aspic” so that once-every-five-years visitors can come and admire it in contemplative silence. Let’s get the young people here (and I say that as someone knocking on toward seventy).

Having spent a long weekend in Cambridge, and travelled back by train via Leeds and on the Settle-Carlisle line to Appleby, I managed on Monday afternoon to get this quick shot (on my phone) of the very top of the Eden Valley as the train came over from Garsdale and began the long downhill stretch to Kirkby Stephen with Mallerstang to the right.

Top of the Eden Valley - Mallerstang from the Train

What a fantastic area of the country to come home to. After years in the flatlands I still can’t, even after a year here, quite get used to how privileged we are to live in the Eden Valley.

Great news for the osprey watchers of the Lake District.  BBC News Cumbria reports

A female osprey has been spotted in Cumbria at the start of the nesting season. …. The unidentified female was spotted on a nest near Keswick on Friday but it is not known if she will remain. Ospreys fly south to Africa during late autumn, returning to the UK towards the start of April. A pair of ospreys first nested near Bassenthwaite Lake in the Lake District in 2001 and raised a single chick – the first for more than 150 years ….

Read more on BBC News Cumbria:  Osprey spotted on nest in Cumbria

It is, of course, early days still but let's hope that once again we see not only ospreys but osprey chicks by Bassenthwaite Lake.

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Elsewhere in the Lake District, at Grizedale Forest, there's more good news (again via the BBC) and this time for the mountain bike enthusiast. A new 1 km trail has been developed at the highest level of difficulty, “black”.  See:  Lake District black grade mountain bike trail opens

Spring is sprung! And the RSPB at Leighton Moss report lovey-dovey bitterns. The other day Annabel Rushton wrote:

Our very lucky Visitor Services Manager Jacqui was out for a stroll on the reserve yesterday evening and witnessed a rare treat at the bottom of the causeway.  She was listening to our male bittern booming and suddenly he flew up out of the reeds along with a second bittern and they proceeded to give an amazing display to each other in mid-air before tumbling back down in to the reedbed! This truly awesome sight certainly makes a romance between them look promising.

There’s a lot of nature in the North. Look out for it.

Bittern, from Grisedale Hide, Leighton Moss, Jan 2009 - by Gidzy, Flickr.com