Category Castles
Mill on the castle #atozchallenge
One of my favourite castles is Bamburgh, the subject of my letter B. Not far up the coast from my letter A, Alnwick, this castle sits on the beach and provides a spectacular view. While children construct castles using the golden sand, Bamburgh castle has stood undaunted by time and bombardment. Now a private home, […]
Aesthetics of Alnwick #atozchallenge
It’s the start of the A-Z blogging challenge. My theme – castles and today is the letter A. I’ve loved them since I was small and the great fortifications still fascinate me. Alnwick Castle in Northumberland is not a ruin. It’s the family home of the Duke of Northumberland and lived in by the same […]
Ruins and views
A recent holiday in Yorkshire gave me the chance to explore some new castles. I’m finding myself doing the trip I have laid out in my stalled work in progress in reverse. My character travels south, while I went north. Armed with a camera, I snapped away, trying to pretend I was somebody else, not […]
Re-creating the Castles in my mind
I have a love of history, however, I’m not heavily into reading about history. I prefer to see and feel it. Living in the UK gives me plenty of opportunities to explore history without having to travel huge distances. Whether it is the historic port of Liverpool with his vibrant music culture and more infamous […]
Poppies
It is Armistice Day. Poppy day. The amazing installation at the Tower of London has caught the imagination of the country. 888,246 ceramic red poppies ‘planted’ in the moat of the fortress, each representing a British fatality. That’s a huge number of men (and women too) whose lives ceased to existed in the battlefields. […]
The Great Whin Sill – a cure for writer’s block
I’ve been stuck on the Dunstanburgh chapter of my book for some time. I love the castle, the bleakness, the scale of the ruins, the view out to sea, the harsh chill of the wind, the sense of a haunting presence. The closer something is to your heart, the harder it becomes to write it […]
Time, the picture it does alter.
Time changes things. I don’t think I’m going to win a Nobel prize for that profound statement. If you have an interest in history, like I do, you might have a preference for a particular era or something physical, like a building. What existed back when it was created doesn’t resemble what is left of […]
Memories of castles
I’ve always had a fascination with castles, cathedrals too, but castles have greater variety in architecture and location. As a kid I’d run around the grounds, up and down the towers and paid little attention to the historical aspects. They all looked the same – ruined: windows without glass, hearths without fires and walls without […]
The Quiet Writer 