Of Beaches and Castles

Nicola here and today I’m talking about beaches – and history. You may already have noticed that the Wenches love a good trip to the sea, whether it’s a Caribbean island or the Antarctic or the Northern shores of Scotland. There’s something about the water and a stretch of golden sand that is refreshing and inspiring, even if you’re wearing several layers of thermals to appreciate it, as I was last week!

My beach odyssey started in Bamburgh in Northumberland, on the North East coast of England. It’s a favourite spot of mine and the setting for a story I’ll be writing a little way down the line. The whole area is chock full of history from pre-Roman times through the centuries, plus it has castles by the score and at Bamburgh there is the big mama of them all.

Bamburgh’s recorded history begins in AD 547 when it was the royal centre of one of the most powerful of the Anglo Saxon kingdoms, Bernicia. It was known as Din Guayrdi and the first wooden hall was established high on the crag, 150 feet above the sea by King Ida the Flamebearer.

The earliest artefact, a solid gold plaque engraved with Celtic artwork, dates to this period. Known as The Bamburgh Beast, its actual identity is still under debate! Is it an elephant? Is it an octopus? No one is sure.

Two hundred years later, the wooden fortress was replaced by the first stone buildings with an entrance hollowed out of the rock and for a short while Bamburgh was a place of high power and prestige before a combination of fighting amongst the rival kingdoms and Viking raids brought it down.

It was the Normans, those keen castle-builders, who recreated Bamburgh. The great Keep, which is still standing, cost £4 to build in 1164AD whilst the Great Hall was added 100 years later.  Bamburgh stood strong for several centuries until it was attacked during the Wars of the Roses, when it became the first castle in England to fall to gunpowder.

As in all good stories, though, Bamburgh castle rises – and falls – again several times over the following centuries until it was finally restored at the end of the 19^th century at a cost of over £1 million pounds, a sharp contrast to the original cost of the keep, accounted for by inflation!

Today you can visit all the state rooms and the armoury in the Great Keep, imagine that you are a knight riding in through the bottle-shaped doors or play
some of the medieval games such as quoits and skittles. You can explore the archaeological excavations that reveal the long story of Bamburgh and look out across the sea from the battlements. My favourite bit was admiring the gorgeous golden gown worn by Dorothy Forster, who lived there in the 18^th century (shades of my book The Woman in the Lake!) and I loved the beautifully restored Victorian parlour upstairs. This really is a castle par excellence!

Overlooking another sandy beach, this time further to the North East near Dundee in Scotland, is the Red Castle. Shades of Game of Thrones here! The Red Castle is a total ruin but a very atmospheric one. It was built originally to repel Viking invasion and later used as the Scottish monarch’s hunting lodge. However it was destroyed in the 1580s when James Gray laid siege to it after marrying the owner, Elizabeth Beaton, falling in love with her daughter, and being thrown out! That is some acrimonious divorce!

The climb to Red Castle, towering over the beach, is breath-taking and sharing the view with a few seabirds and no one else is very special. So what is it about the combination of castle and beach that is so appealing? Well,  for a start it’s very visual. The sky, the sea, the beach and castle rising from the rock, all come together in a romantic and atmospheric way. The place resounds with ghosts and with stories of times past. It’s imaginative and inspiring. Then there is the breeze off the sea, the sun, the sound of the waves and the seabirds… In my opinion there is something magical about it all.

I did have some more photos but Typepad wasn't keen to let me post them up so I'm sorry I can't share more magnificent castles!

Do you love  beach? What would be your chosen seaside residence? A little cottage? A grand hotel or a magnificent castle? Or would the tourists - or the weather - put you off?

Comments

[Mary T]

I was born and raised in the Midwest (USA) and the largest bodies of water I ever saw were rivers and lakes. They are beautiful in their own way. My only exposure to the seas or oceans were through books, movies or TV shows - but I always felt drawn to them. Had no desire to be on the ocean (boats scare me) - just near one.

When I was nineteen I was in the army and stationed in Germany. I went on a tour of Holland. As the tour bus turned a corner to take us to our hotel, I was suddenly face to face with the North Sea. It was the first time I was ever that up-close to the sea. I was so excited I was jumping up and down in my seat like a three year old (smile). There was even a lighthouse.

Over the years I was able to see the Atlantic and Pacific from different locations. But the memory of seeing the North Sea is still the most vivid in my mind.

[Denise Morris]

For the past couple of years we have spent the month of February on the Florida panhandle in a house directly on the beach. It is glorious, but I am always glad to get back to our little mountain and woodsy view. Both of my grandparents had houses on the New Jersey shore, so many of my childhood memories are of blistering hot summer days, sandy beaches and being with all my cousins for weeks at a time. But I could not endure a hot, humid summer again. I have put Bamburgh Castle on our list for next year’s visit to England. I loved our visit to Eilean Donan Castle in Scotland, the setting was just beautiful.

[Lillian Marek]

Having always lived near the ocean, I can't imagine ever wanting to live too far from it. My dream house comes from an old movie—The Uninvited with Ray Milland. The house is a brick Georgian on a cliff overlooking the water. I think it's supposed to be the Cornish coast, and I'm sure it was a stage set rather than a real location, but that is the house I have always coveted.

Minus the ghost, however.

[Kathy K]

I turn to french fry in about 15 minutes on southern beaches, so beaches in general are not my favorite. However, these northern beaches probably would not be associated with such sunburns, so I"m willing to try them.I do love to walk along the beach at sunset or early morning. But live there? In the Southern US we regularly have hurricanes that destroy those homes along the ocean. So I will let someone else buy the insurance.

[Margot]

I like the dramatic changes of the oceans, but not the salty water. I lived right on the shore in New Jersey one summer as a teenager and that was glorious. Now in my later years I prefer the Great Lakes especially for swimming and for the landscape so near the water (not affected by salt water). Some of the beaches are sandy while others are quite rocky and difficult to walk.
If I had to chose a spot it would be in the UK. I would love a stone cottage on a hillside overlooking the western coast to see sunsets over the ocean and see the storms approaching. I love Wales and Scotland and had often dreamed of finding a spot there to enjoy for a year - or more.

[Annette N]

I would love to live on a beach at a lake. I worked for FEMA and live in Texas and hurricanes and flooding are very real to me. So, no river, nor ocean, please. I was born near Lake Michigan and lived there for a good portion of my childhood. I have been to the Pacific and the Gulf of Mexico. I loved all of them, but please nothing to blow me away or have water wipe out my home.

Actually, I have this feeling when I am around a body of water. I love the sound and feel and smell. I have this feeling of being in the absolutely right place for my soul.

[Shannon Arthur]

I love castles on the sea. Bamburgh Castle is a favourite, especially since it was a sunny day and the tide was out, so I did a complete circle down the dunes, across the beach, back up and around. It was the first of my Northumberland loop. Dunstanburgh Castle is on the sea, but it's a 20-30 minute walk from the nearest village on the North Sea coast, but it's wonderfully romantic to stroll up to it, thinking of what if you were a peasant coming for a favour or a mounted knight having to go fight against that behemoth. (On that tour I did take in Lindisfarne Castle, Alnwick, and Warkworth.) When I was reading the guidebook later, I found out that new archeology has discovered the huge pier that was there because it was easier to reach the castle by sea rather than by land.

My other coastal castles were some of the Edward I castles in Wales--Conwy, Caernarfon, Criccieth, and Harlech--done in a large loop. They were big and strong and varied. The land changed in at Harlech so that it is not necessarily night on the sea today. (I also visited Beaumaris which is a moated castle on Anglesey island.)

My only two coastal castles on this summer's agenda are Tintagel and Mt. St. Michael Mount in Cornwall. Ask Merlin to bring the magic...

[Nicola Cornick]

Oh wow, Mary, what a wonderful story! The first time you glimpse the sea is so special, isn't it. Lakes and rivers can be stunningly beautiful in a different way but the ocean is special.

[Nicola Cornick]

How fantastic that you've seen Eilean Donan, Denise. Isn't it an amazing place? I think you will enjoy Bamburgh!

[Nicola Cornick]

That does sound a bit Gothic and spooky, Lillian, but what an amazing site for a house and a wonderful view!

[Nicola Cornick]

It sounds very different in the Southern US, Kathy. I can't be out in the heat too long either but that wasn't a problem in the North of England and Scotland although I think you can still get sunburn.

[Nicola Cornick]

Margot, that sounds gorgeous! All those beautiful sunsets and the storms coming in from the Atlantic... That's a good point about salt water though! Fresh water is much nicer for bathing.

[Nicola Cornick]

That's beautiful, Annette. I know the ocean might not feel right for everyone but if all the elements come together for you that would be so inspiring.

[Nicola Cornick]

Shannon, you've done all the fabulous Northumberland castles, haven't you! They are all on my favourites list. Have a fantastic time in Cornwall!

[Jacqui]

The beach below Bamburgh in a storm is amazing...infact the whole of the coast of the British Isles is wonderful in a storm, esp if you are standing out in it

[Sue McCormick]

Another from the Mid-Westr here. I have seen the Atlantic from several locations in the United States; about the only view of broad ocean was from Atlantic City's board walk on a very rainy day.

Thank you for a beautiful virtual tour.

[Teresa Broderick]

I live four miles from the beach and I LOVE to walk there early in the day. I can't swim but that doesn't bother me. There's something magical about the sea and on certain days when I open my front door I can smell it on the wind.
I also adore castles. I've been to visit as many as possible here in Ireland but would absolutely love to see the ones across the water. The description of the one at Bamburgh has me salivating:) :) And the location sounds perfect.
Great post Nicola.

[Kareni]

There is something soothing about the ocean. I'd be happy to visit the ocean and stay in either a cottage or a castle. If room service is provided, so much the better!

Thanks for your post, Nicola; I enjoyed the history and the photos.

[Nicola Cornick]

I'd love to see that, Jacqui. I imagine it looks amazing. I've been at the seaside during a few storms and the power of them is hugely impressive.

[Nicola Cornick]

Thank you, Sue, I'm so glad you enjoyed it!

[Nicola Cornick]

Teresa, I envy you! How wonderful to be able to smell the sea air every day!

I've visited a few Irish castles but would love to see more. It's another history-lovers paradise, isn't it.

[Nicola Cornick]

Thank you, Kareni! I'd have enjoyed room service on my holidays too but it was still pretty good as it was!