The Offpeak Day Return of the King
A bit of an oddity for this week’s second blog. (And anybody thinking ‘the blogger’s a bit of an oddity anyway’ is toast.) Last week’s trip to Galloway – see the previous post – provided me with lots of inspiration of all sorts, and, thanks primarily to Wigtown, also provided me with lots more books […]
The Holy Grail? Somebody Left It on the Throne of Doom
We spent last week enjoying some ‘R&R’ at Rosslyn Castle, just outside Edinburgh. This is a Landmark Trust property, and regular readers of this blog will know that I/we are big fans of Landmarks, having notched up fifteen of them to date; indeed, I’ll be off to another one in just a few weeks time, […]
Castles in the Air, Part 3
The third and final instalment from my personal ‘top twenty’ castles… Corfe Castle, Dorset – Standing in a glorious location, on a hill adjacent to a picturesque village and a steam railway, Corfe sprawls across the hillside like some deserted ancient city. Dominated by a towering keep, the fortress was once a royal castle, but its […]
Castles in the Air, Part 2
Another installment of my personal ‘top twenty’ of castles that I’ve visited. Third and final part to come next week! Devin Castle, Slovakia – A few years ago, some friends who were living in Bratislava at the time took us to visit Devin, which isn’t far from the city. It’s an evocative relic of the time […]
Castles in the Air, Part 1
Castles kicked it all off for me – ‘all’ being the lifelong interest in history, leading ultimately to a career teaching it and a second career writing about it. A visit to Pembroke Castle when I was five years old proved to be the catalyst, and a year or so later, when my parents and […]
