Sept 26...Castles On The Way To Scotland

We had reserved this day to get ourselves to Edinburgh. It was a sort drive away so we decided to meander along the coast and see what we might find.

Our first stop was Newbiggin by the Sea where we had been told that there was an art installtion called The Couples, a large bronze sttute looking out to sea. We found it, but it is far away, in the sea,and hard to see...a bit disappointing.

We took walk on the beach and the wind..oh my goodness...the wind! It was blowing a gale, although it was warm(ish) and sunny.

We went on to Warkworth where we found an old ruined castle...the very one Shakespere used in his play Henry IV. It was once the seat of power of the Percy family. It stands in ruins but is impressive nevertheless.

Our visit was short but enjoyable in continuing gale force winds.

Then it was on to Alnwick where the current Duke and Duchess of Northumberland, the Percy's have a real, honest to goodness working castle. This is open to the public when they re not in residence and has been used in the filming of Harry Potter and Downton Abbey. We visited the state rooms and saw the locations where fillings took place, but as they are real living quarters, no pictures were allowed.

Then we continued our coastal drive and passed a couple of other castles on our way into Edinburgh.  One was at Bamburgh and is also a functioning castle, but by the time we got there it was closed...so we pressed on.

Finally...we came to the Scottish border and then onward to Edinburgh.