Things to do in Northumberland,Tyne and Wear

Alnwick Castle is the second largest inhabited castle in England (after Windsor Castle). The Castle contains the finest collection of Italian paintings in the north of England and also one of the most important collections of Meissen porcelain in Britain. The castle is made up of two main rings of buildings. The main rooms are in the inner ring which surrounds a small courtyard. The outer ring forms a bailey around the central block. As the castle expanded a large number of buildings were built along the south wall of the bailey. The buildings along the south wall are connected to the central block by a link building. There are towers at regular intervals along the walls of the outer bailey. (These features can be clearly seen by zooming in on the Google Map satellite image below). It has been the home of the Percys, Earls and Dukes of Northumberland since 1309. The earliest mention of Alnwick Castle in the history books appears soon after 1096 when the baron of Alnwick built the earliest parts of the Castle. The Arts Alnwick Castle has featured in numerous movies including: Robin Hood Prince of Thieves (1991), Monk Dawson (1998), Elizabeth (1998), Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2007). It has also been used in many TV series such as Blackadder (1983), Famous Five (1995-96), Ivanhoe (1997).

Aydon Castle is located near the town of Corbridge, Northumberland, where it stands in a secluded woodland setting next to the steep valley of the Cor Burn. The castle is naturally defended by the slope to the Burn on one side, and has curtain walls on the other. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and a Grade I listed building. The castle is now managed by English Heritage and is open to the public. Aydon Castle is a fortified manor house. It was built by Robert de Reymes in 1296. It was originally built as an undefended two-storey home with a solar, dining hall and kitchen on the upper floor. In 1305 de Reymes obtained a licence to crenellate his property and added battlements and curtain walls. Aydon was captured by the Scots in 1315 and again in 1346. The castle was renovated in the middle of the 16th century. In the 17th century it was converted into a farm, and remained in use as a farm until 1966. Since then, the castle has been restored.

Belsay Castle is located at Belsay, Northumberland, England. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and a Grade I listed building. The castle is a three storey rectangular pele tower with four rounded corner turrets and battlements. The tower has a vaulted basement containing the kitchen, with a well. Above is a hall and a solar with fireplaces. The tower has two wings at the south west and north west corners. Belsay Castle is now administered by English Heritage and is open the public. Belsay Castle was built about 1370 and was the home of the Middleton family. In 1614 Thomas Middleton built a new two storey range in the style of a manor house attached to the tower. There was a west wing added in 1711. This wing was partly demolished in 1872 by Sir Arthur Middleton during renovations. The castle was abandoned as a residence by the family in the early 19th century.

Chillingham Castle is located in the village of Chillingham in Northumberland, near the border between England and Scotland. The castle is built in a quadrangle with a large inner courtyard. There are numerous parts of the castle open to visitors. The Armoury at the entrance has many weapons and memorabilia. The Great Hall was built for the Royal visit of James VI of Scotland. The walls display weapons and trophies from around the world. The Edward 1st Room is where Edward stayed on his journey to capture William Wallace. The Plaque Room has a fine plasterwork armorial plaque, and a display of paintings and photographs. The Museum has many artifacts of historical significance. The Great Hall and New Dining Room can be visited. There is a Minstrel's Hall with Minstrel's Gallery. The Berthele Room is full of prehistoric stones and weapons. The Torture Chamber has executioners blocks, an Iron Maiden with interior spikes, a scold's bridle, and thumb screws. The thick walls had passages running through them linking the castle towers. Some of these passages are now filled in. There is a dungeon with a heavy oak door with handles on only one side, and inside the dungeon is a drop to deeper chambers below. From the medieval courtyard you get a good view of the walls and towers. The Castle is now open to the public and is available for weddings and private functions and has accommodation for about fifty guests. The adjacent park is under a separate ownership from the castle and is home to the Chillingham Wild Cattle. Chillingham Castle was originally a monastery in the late 12th century. It was taken over by the Grey family in 1246 and was the seat of the Greys and their descendants the Earls of Tankerville from the 13th century until the 1980s. It was converted to a fortified castle in the mid 14th century. The castle occupied a strategically important location on the border between Scotland and England. It was used as a base for English armies entering Scotland, and was attacked and besieged several times by Scottish armies. King Edward I stayed at the castle in 1298 on his way to Scotland to battle a Scottish army led by William Wallace. After the Union of the Crowns of Scotland and England, the need for a military stronghold declined, and the castle was gradually transformed to a stately home. The moat was filled, and the battlements were converted into residential wings. A banquet hall and library were added; the central stairway was added from the courtyard to the upper level of the castle, and the east range was remodeled. The grounds were extensively landscaped in the 18th and 19th century. During World War II, the castle was used as an army barracks. After the war, the castle began to fall into disrepair. In the 1980s, the castle was purchased by Sir Humphry Wakefield, 2nd Baronet, whose wife Catherine is descended from the Greys of Chillingham. He restored the castle, and it is now a restoration of the castle, and it is now a hotel. The Arts Chillingham Castle was used for many historic scenes in the film "Elizabeth" ; "The Making of Harry Potter" was based at Chillingham; The Hollywood ghost film, "Most Frightened", was filmed at Chillingham Chillingham Castle featured in an episode of "Ghost Hunters International", 2008; also in several episodes of the series "Scariest Places on Earth", 2000. Legends Chillingham Castle is said to be Ione of the most haunted castle in Britain. The most famous ghost of the castle is the "blue boy", who is supposed to haunt the Pink Room in the castle. Guests apparently reported seeing blue flashes and a blue "halo" of light above their beds.

Dunstanburgh Castle is spectacularly located on headland with its north side jutting out into Embelton Bay 150 feet below, between the towns of Craster and Embelton in the north of England. The castle is set in an eleven acre site but has been left in a state of ruin. The castle's main feature however, the gatehouse, gives a good idea of its once grand scale. The twin towered gatehouse, originally four storeys, now two or three in places are 'D' shaped and behind them lies a courtyard. To the south is a wall with two rectangular towers, a further gatehouse and two turrets, the wall then turns northwards with another turret. Facilities Visitors to the castle must walk along a footpath which follows the rocky shoreline for approximately one and a half miles to reach the site as there is no vehicular access. The castle is open daily from 10am until 5pm between April and September and until 4pm in October, Mondays only between 10am and 4pm November to January and Thursday through to Monday 10am to 4pm February to March. Visitor facilities include a small shop selling postcards and souvenirs and a cafe selling hot drinks and snacks The castle was constructed by Thomas, Earl of Lancaste; nephew to Edward II of England, in 1313 and it is believed he chose the area to perfectly isolate and protect him against the Scottish and the King. Nine years later the castle was almost complete when he was executed in connection with the death of one of the Kings closest companions and it was the Duke of Lancaster, John of Gaunt who was left to make improvements in the late 14th Century. He blocked up the entrance to the gatehouse making it a strong keep and built a new entrance to the left During the War of the Roses significant damage was caused to the castle by canon fire and although it remained in the hands of the Lancastrians it was left abandoned after the war. Much of the stone was removed by locals and used to build homes around the area. In 1929 the castle was donated to the Ministry of Works by Sir Arthur Sutherland, and today it is owned by the National Trust and under the care of English Heritage. The Arts Dunstanburugh was painted on many occasions by Turner. Two such paintings are exhibited at the National Gallery of Victoria and the Public Art Gallery in Dunedin.

Edlingham Castle is situated near a church in the village of Edlingham, about seven miles south west of Alnwick in Northumberland The castle is now in ruins with only part of the tower still standing about 10m tall. The tower has a major crack from top to ground with part of the structure leaning outwards. You can still see buttresses that were used to support the ceiling vaults, but the vault and parts of the tower have collapsed. The foundations and part of the walls of the castle buildings are still visible. The curtain walls are little more than earth covered mounds now. The castle is now in the care of English Heritage. Facilities There is a small parking area at the church beside the castle. The site of the castle was originally a 12th century manor house. It was fortified with ramparts, and surrounded with a wall and gatehouse in the 13th century. By the 17th century it had fallen into disrepair and stones from the castle were used to build nearby farm houses. The tower was left standing.

Etal Castle was founded by the Manners family in the late 12th century. In 1341, nobleman and doctor Robert de Manners received licence to crenelate his manor, permitting him to be designate it as a "castle". During this time the Castle was renowned as a destination for pilgrims seeking medical and dental treatment from its owner. Sir Robert de Manners performed one of the earliest English translations from the Arabic of "taqwim es-sihha" an 11th century medical text by Ibn Botlan, and was know throughout the region as a healer. The Manners family often feuded with the Heron family of nearby Ford Castle. In 1428 Sir William Heron led an attack on Etal Castle and was killed in the process. In 1513, an army of 30,000 Scots led by James IV invaded England and took the Castle. The invaders were then defeated in the battle of Flodden Hill. Etal Castle is currently owned by English Heritage and situated in Northumberland.

Lindisfarne Castle on Holy Island off the Northumberland coast is a small but dramatically positioned castle perched on a rocky outcrop above the harbour at the south end of the island, originally built as a Tudor fort in the mid-sixteenth century to protect the harbour and later converted in the early twentieth century by the architect Edwin Lutyens into a compact and architecturally inventive country house for the magazine editor Edward Hudson. The National Trust has managed the castle since 1944 and it remains one of the most visited buildings in Northumberland. The fort was built between 1549 and 1550 using stone from the recently dissolved Lindisfarne Priory, a practical act of resource reuse that connected the new secular fortification directly to the religious past it was replacing. The fort saw relatively little military action but was briefly seized in 1715 by two Jacobite soldiers who held it for a day before being retaken, an incident whose brevity and absurdity makes it one of the minor comic moments of the Jacobite period. Edwin Lutyens's conversion of the fort between 1902 and 1906 for Edward Hudson transformed a utilitarian military structure into an intimate and architecturally inventive house of considerable originality. Lutyens worked with the existing fabric rather than demolishing and rebuilding, adapting the vaulted rooms and barrel-roofed passages of the fort into living spaces of characterful charm. The ship cabin quality of the interior spaces, their low ceilings and small windows making them feel like the interior of a well-appointed vessel, reflects both the island setting and Lutyens's skill at making limited space feel complete and satisfying. The walled garden designed by Gertrude Jekyll a short distance from the castle, now restored by the National Trust, adds a further designed landscape element to the island visit.

Newcastle Castle Keep is the magnificent Norman keep that is all that remains of the original castle that gave Newcastle upon Tyne its name, built by Henry II between 1168 and 1178 on the site of an earlier motte-and-bailey castle established by William the Conqueror's son Robert Curthose in 1080. The keep is one of the finest and best-preserved Norman keeps in England, rising to four storeys with elaborate architectural details including the remarkable chapel with its richly carved stonework and the well-lit Great Chamber. The castle is managed by Newcastle City Council and provides exceptional views over the Tyne valley, the medieval bridges and the city from its roof. The castle is a reminder that Newcastle was established as a military stronghold at one of the most strategically important river crossings in northern England.

Norham Castle stands high above the river Tweed, it was started in c.1121 by Bishop Ranulph Flambard, but only his earthworks remain after the Scots raised it to the ground. It was rebuilt by Henry 2nd soon after 1157. Most of the present stonework dates from 1422-5 when the castle was strengthened. Norhamshire was given to the crown in 1559, from when the castle started to decay. It was sold to various owners, until 1923 when the ruins were placed in state care. It is now managed by English Heritage, a body responsible for protecting the historical environment.

Prudhoe Castle is set on a high ridge over looking the River Tyne in the town of Prudhoe, 13 miles west of Newcastle upon Tyne, in the North East of England. The ruins of the castle are reached by a pathway over a tree covered hill and are enclosed by a moat and a curtain wall. The site is also flanked by a watermill and mill pond. Entry to the site is firstly via a barbican and then a gatehouse which opens out into an outer bailey. The outer bailey houses the remains of buildings such as the Great Hall and the Manor House. Enclosed within the castle's inner bailey are the remains of the square keep with walls of 10 feet thick. Facilities The castle is open to visitors from Thursday to Monday between 10am and 5pm from April until September. The Prudhoe Castle experience includes a family friendly exhibition including items found within the site and detailed descriptions of the castle's remains. The Manor House is also where visitors can visit the castle gift shop. The first castle on the site was from the 11th century and was built as a Norman motte and bailey castle. The Baron of Prudhoe, Robert d'Umfraville, took over the castle following the Norman Conquest and in time replaced the wooden structures with more substantial stone ones and added a curtain wall and gatehouse. In 1173 there was an unsuccessful attempt to take the castle by the Scots. Following the attempt the current Baron, Odinel Umfraville, not only increased the castle's garrison, but also improved the defenses by adding a strong keep causing the Scots to fail twice more in their attempts at a siege. Through marriage the castle passed into the Percy family, Dukes of Northumberland, and in 1398 they added a new 'great hall'. The family lost and then gained the castle again during the Wars of the Roses, and finally restored and rented it out until the 1660's when it was left abandoned. It was not until 1808 that the Percy's started to carry out repairs and improvements to the castle; demolishing old buildings and building a Georgian mansion house adjoining the keep. In 1966 English Heritage took over the running of the site although the castle still remains the property of the Duke of Northumberland.

Thirlwall Castle near Greenhead in Cumbria is a ruined fourteenth-century castle built almost entirely from stones robbed from the nearby Roman Wall of Hadrian, making it an unusual monument that simultaneously illustrates the medieval period and the Roman heritage it drew upon for its construction. The castle was built by the Thirlwall family to defend this remote stretch of the Northumberland-Cumbria border against Scottish raids, and its position close to the Hadrian's Wall corridor reflects the military importance of this route through the north Pennines. The castle is now managed as a heritage site accessible from the Hadrian's Wall National Trail, which passes nearby and connects the castle with the well-preserved Roman sites of the wall corridor. The surrounding landscape of the North Pennines provides some of the finest and most remote upland scenery in northern England.

Set on a headland near the North Pier, between the River Tyne and the North Sea, Tynemouth Castle is half a mile from the centre of the town in the north east of England. Both the castle and the priory are in a state of ruin but what remains is well preserved. The eastern end of the priory stands at almost its full height with narrow windows and large arches, behind is a small chapel with a vaulted roof and a rose window. The remains of the castle consist of a gatehouse and keep which are surrounded by parts of a curtain wall; also enclosing the priory, and a moat. Facilities The site is open to visitors daily from 10am between April and September and from Thursday to Monday from October to March. Visitors can see the restored defense emplacements including an armory and guardroom, there is also limited access to the Gun Battery; visitors should ask a member of staff for details. Due to its headland location the site is also a very good place to stop for a picnic. The priory was built on the site in the early 7th century by Edwin of Northumbria and it became a place of pilgrimage when Oswin, King of Deira was buried there. Tynemouth priory was plundered by the Danes in 800AD following which the monks strengthened the fortifications. The strengthening held off the Danes on their next attempt in 832, however in 865 both the church and the priory were destroyed. The Danes twice more plundered the site and in 875 the priory was totally destroyed leaving only the small church. During the reign of Edward the Confessor, Earl Tostig took over the site and made plans to re-found the monastery, unfortunately he was killed at the battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066 and so his plans were never fulfilled. By 1095 there was a wooden castle built on the site and there was a further attempt to re-found the monastery by the Earl of Northumberland, Robert de Mowbray. Due to a dispute the priory was placed under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Durham but this did not stop the Earl who took refuge in the castle after rebelling against King William II. He was subsequently caught and imprisoned for treason. In 1296 royal permission was granted to surround the monastery with stone walls and later a barbican and gatehouse were added to the castle. During the reign of Henry VIII the monastery was dissolved and along with its lands was granted to Sir Thomas Hilton although the castle still remained property of the crown and home to the Earl of Northumberland. In the following years the castle was used as the site for a lighthouse, an army barracks and a coastal defense during World War II. The castle and priory are now under the care of English Heritage.

Warkworth Castle near Warkworth in Northumberland is one of the finest and most romantically situated medieval castles in northern England, a Percy family stronghold on a promontory above a sweeping bend of the River Coquet with the picturesque village and medieval bridge below. The castle dates from the twelfth century and was extensively developed by the Percy earls of Northumberland in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries into a residence of considerable sophistication, including the remarkable tower house keep with its unique cruciform plan. The castle features prominently in Shakespeare's Henry IV plays, where it is the home of Harry Hotspur. Managed by English Heritage and open to visitors, Warkworth Castle is complemented by the remarkable medieval hermitage carved into the riverside cliff a short distance upstream, accessible by rowing boat in the summer season.