An American in Sussex: Three Castles and a Fierce Sea!

Aagh- I've been a bad blogger! I didn't realize it had been nearly two weeks since my last post, but I was a bit overwhelmed by the amount of pictures I took when I visited Northumberland 2 weeks ago.

It was a bit of a spur of the moment decision, to go up North on the train to Northumberland. I realized that I really wanted to see Alnwick Castle, where my sister stayed as a study abroad around 5 (?) years ago. I took the train up- about 6 hours total- and got to stay the night in the castle! Deanna was awesome in contacting her friend Wade, who still lives and works in the castle, and he arranged for me to visit and stay overnight in the castle. Definitely an amazing experience. I had the weirdest sense of deja vu the entire time I explored the castle. I've heard Dee's stories and seen pictures of Alnwick so many times, that it felt like I'd been there myself! The day was utterly gorgeous- my only sunny day over the weekend- and I felt free to wander. It was Harry Potter weekend, so there were many little (and big!) kids wearing costumes and participating in "broomstick" class. Parts of the first few films were filmed at Alnwick.

The Percy family has lived/owned the castle for over 700 years, and still live in part of the castle today. They had a lovely exhibit on the Duke's eldest daughters wedding, which was this past February. It's a bit strange to be going through the state rooms, and see modern photographs of the Duke and his family mixed in with all of the history. There is a tiny bit of a feeling of intrusion, despite the loveliness and gorgeousness of the surroundings.

I didn't have to get back to Brighton until late Monday night, so Sunday I decided to go to Bamburgh castle, which is a bit up the coast. As I was on the bus, heading through quite literally the back country of Northumberland, I realized how much more the North resonates with me than Southern England. The North has this fierce and raw beauty that the south lacks at times, I think. Bamburgh Castle sits right on the beach and the North Sea. The castle has changed hands many times over the past few centuries, and is currently owned by the Armstrongs, although they rent out some of the rooms. I got a kick out of thinking someone renting a "flat" inside this behemoth. I met quite a few lovely people who were all excited to hear how far I'd come from Phoenix, and actually thanked me for visiting their town. Northern people are lovely :) The castle was honestly the only thing I did in Bamburgh, as the town consisted of a tea house and a convenience store. Not even a high street!

Monday morning, I headed on the bus to Craster, where Dunstanburgh Castle lies in ruins. The castle is about 1.5 miles down the beach. It was INCREDIBLY windy on the walk, which I half loved and half hated. The wind was whipping the sea into a frenzy and sending bubbles up to the shore. It definitely had a romanticly gothic feel to it! I also had encounters with both highland cows and sheep, as they freely grazed the grounds around the castle ruins with no fences in sight. They honestly could have cared less about any of the tourists. The castle has been in ruins for quite some time, but it would have once been one of the largest castles in the North, and would have been extremely foreboding to possible attackers from the sea. I went to the top of one of the remaining towers in the front gate, and could see for miles. A sharp gust of wind sent me scurrying down the stairs though, because I didn't fancy dying on the top of a castle tower!

It was an amazing weekend, and I feel so lucky to get to experience all of these adventures! It was truly a treat to see where Deanna had once gone to school and hang out in the town where she lived, as well as bask in the warmth of the Northern population (if not warm weather).