Skipton Castle

I arrived in Skipton well before the castle opened, so I grabbed a few meat pies, cleared some snow off a bench and broke my fast. 

Still having some time, I walked around the perimeter of the castle, which turns out meant walking around most of the neighboring woods as well due to the size of the gated grounds. The path had a great view of the cliff that surely dictated the castle's location, though. 

With my circumambulation of the castle complete, the doors were open and I began my tour. 

I enjoyed the courtyard's resilient yew tree planted in 1659 when the castle was restored (which is even recorded on the drain pipe), as well as the coats of arms carved above the doorways. 

The castle is famed for being fully roofed, which is unusual due to most castles being blown to bits by cannons in the civil war. Skipton castle was as well during a siege, but the owners received permission to rebuild the tops of the towers so long as they made them too weak to support cannons on their tops. The walls seem absurdly thin where they are rebuild compared to the defensible walls thick enough to stop a cannon ball. 

 My favorite part was a murder hole that was designed to shoot a crossbow at people inside the gates. If anyone tried to by opening the doors to an invading force they would get a quarrel in their back.