Northumberland Castles

I was greeted in Alnwick by Northumberland's nearly perpetual rain, as well as a much warmer greeting from one of my couchsurf hosts. She took me to her home, where she made a lovely dinner for me, her husband, and another couchsurfer who was from the area but had long been away and felt like meeting up with other couchsurfers while visiting family. The next day he and a local surfer friend drove me around to various castles in the area and regaled me with tales of his adventures leading tours that drove across the length of Africa and of his current job taking people out to see polar bears in Northern Canada. Being this close to Scotland, Northumberland has more castles than any other county of England. Our first stop was Dunstanburgh Castle, which I certainly never would have found with just a guidebook. We strolled in sheep fields alongside mudholes that during a drier season might be called tractor paths until we reached the foamy shores below the towering ruin. 

The stone has been eroded in odd patters that seem consistent within each block of stone but vary from block to block. The castle is the largest in Northumberland, and the massive gatehouse was equally proportioned. It once reached 80 feet high, though now only the reinforced stairways reach precariously upward past the now-squat D-shaped towers, which are themselves still large enough to be impressive. 

Next was Bamburgh Castle, which has been restored to a much greater degree and is still used as a residences, as well as for weddings and retreats. The enormous rock walls are an onion of building projects, from the Norman keep core out towards its much later layers. We walked around the great walls and had marvelous views from the beach. 

After dropping off our surfer companion, we stopped for some fish and chips and watched waves break along the wall meant to contain them and keep the port calm. 

We had a view of the closed Alnwick castle as we returned to our starting point. The castle is famed for its presence in numerous films, including Elizabeth and all of the Harry Potter films.