PHOTO: Incredible Bamburgh Castle (Courtesy Flickr)

Near the northernmost part of England sits Northumberland, a rugged bit of landscape known for its sweeping moors, sparsely populated landscape and as the site of numerous battles. There, on the coast, sits Bamburgh Castle, which was once the historic capital of the region and today represents one of the most important Anglo-Saxon archeological sites on record. In fact, the castle sits on rock that has seen more than 6,000 years o… (View original article)

Wales’s impressive castles, abbeys and historic sites have released a programme of more than 100 adventurous family events coming up next Bank Holiday weekend (from Friday, August 26 through to Monday, August 29).

Cadw has launched the programme as part of its Historic Adventures campaign, which brings visitors one-of- a-kind experiences at Cadw sites during Visit Wales’s Year of Adventure – which started with the four metre-long dragon that broke the banks of Caerphilly Castle ba… (View original article)

HAVE you ever seen a better photograph of Clifford’s Tower than this?

From this angle, with trees clustering on the castle mound, it looks wonderfully rural and peaceful. Yet the photograph was taken from inside the old Victorian prison which once stood where the Eye of York now is. To the left of Clifford’s Tower you can clearly make out the millstone gatehouse which stood on Tower Street and connected the prison to the outer world. The low retaining wall which hemmed in the c… (View original article)

An 800-year-old castle in Khon Buri district, Nakhon Ratchasima province is going to become a new tourist attraction after undergoing a 10-month restoration.

South Khon Buri sub-district Mayor, Somchart Dejdon complimented the restorers on the beauty of the ancient castle during a follow-up inspection. The renovation was carried out by the Department of Fine Arts.

He said Khon Buri residents were pleased to learn that the castle had been successfully restored, adding that he … (View original article)

As a child New Zealander Dot Smith dreamed of living in a castle.

Growing up on an isolated farm in the 1960s entertainment was scarce – so Dot read, and planned her escape.

“We grew up with no money, nothing. It was boring. We read all the time. All we had were our imaginations.” said Smith.

Five decades later, after working seven days a week and living in a simple cottage, Dot is on the cusp of achieving that childhood fantasy.

After six years of toil employ… (View original article)

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Val Vannet/Geograph

One of the “finest” portraits of the Jacobean era has been bought so it can remain at its home in mid Wales.

The 17th Century miniature painting of Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury, was painted in watercolour on vellum by Isaac Oliver.

It will be restored before going back on display as the star attraction at Powis Castle, near Welshpool.

It was bought for £2.1m by the National Trust with help from the Nati… (View original article)

Travel back in time to the War of the Roses this Bank Holiday at Stokesay Castle

Stokesay Castle, Nr Craven Arms, Shropshire

This weekend visitors to Shropshire’s Stokesay Castle will be treated to a journey into the past as the castle comes alive with the sights, sounds and smells of Medieval England.

The two day event will see a cast of colourful characters making Stokesay their home as they live and make merry in the castle grounds.

Visitors wil… (View original article)

BERKELEY — They appear to be typical college students, not wizards-in-training, but their new home is anything but standard-issue: a hilltop castle, where they can stay until they graduate from UC Berkeley.

“I’ve always wanted to live in a house that had a library,” said Micah Ackerman Hirsch, a junior American Studies major from Palo Alto who took a break last week in a different room — a lounge with a baby grand, gas fireplace and tall windows overlooking the bay. “It adds to the… (View original article)