The sunlight illuminates the West face of this formidable fortification on Northumbria's coastline. The site was originally the location of a Celtic Brittonic fort known as Din Guarie and may have been the capital of the kingdom of Bernicia from its foundation in c. 420 to 547. After passing between the Britons and the Anglo-Saxons three times, the fort came under Anglo-Saxon control in 590. The fort was destroyed by Vikings in 993, and the Normans later built a new castle on the site, which forms the core of the present one. After a revolt in 1095 supported by the castle's owner, it became the property of the English monarch.

In the 17th century, financial difficulties led to the castle deteriorating, but it was restored by various owners during the 18th and 19th centuries. It was finally bought by the Victorian era industrialist William Armstrong, who completed its restoration. The castle still belongs to the Armstrong family and is open to the public.

Tags:   Bamburgh Castle Bamburgh Northumbria Northumberland Castle Fort Ridge

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Dunstanburgh Castle was constructed by Thomas, the Earl of Lancaster, between 1313 and 1322 with the Lilburn Tower at the north western corner of Castle. The ruined tower was originally built in the 13th Century, and was completed under the authority of John De Lilburn, who at the time, was one of the constables of the castle. The castle is owned by English Heritage, is grade 1 listed and a scheduled monument. The tower always makes an interesting background for the classic photos taken from the bouldered beach at Embleton Bay, but here it is taken from within the Castle's grounds..

Tags:   Mono Lilburn Tower Dunstanburgh Dunstanburgh Castle Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 Grass Stone Ruin Northumbria Northumberland Embleton

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An early morning on Bamburgh Beach with the sun catching the rocks. The rocks provide a nice line back to the illuminated Bamburgh Castle. I took this shot after spending a lovely hour watching the sun rise above the Farne Islands and capturing some blue hour and sunrise images. You can just make out some enthusiastic photographers on the upper right horizon on the Dunes, taking sunrise shots of the Castle. This was really one of those spur of the moment shots on leaving the beach, I’m glad I stopped and looked at the line of rocks, it wasn’t one I had planned.

Tags:   Bamburgh Castle Bamburgh Beach Sunrise Rocks Northumberland Northumbria Sky Dawn Light Seaweed

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The Castle here was built in 1550 when the nearby Lindisfarne Priory went out of use. The stone from the Priory, here on Holy Island, was used in its construction. The Castle was built on the highest point on the island on a whinstone ridge called Beblowe. In 1901, it became the property of Edward Hudson, a publishing magnate and the owner of Country Life magazine. He had it refurbished in the Arts and Crafts style by Sir Edwin Lutyens. It is now owned by the National Trust. As you can probably make out there is currently a lot of work being carried out in renovating the site, hence taking this low perspective, but you can still make out some of the activity on the left hand horizon!

Tags:   Lindisfarne Castle Fort Whinstone Ridge Beblowe Holy Island Lindisfarne Castle Northumbria Northumberland Rock Mooring Rust Ring Lutyens National Trust

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Just returned from a fabulous week up on the Northumbria coast, so I will be posting quite a few from that area over the next few days. Here is Warkworth Castle. There has been a Castle on this well defended spur on the River Coquet since the Norman Conquest in the 12th Century. The Keep pictured here was built for Henry Percy on becoming the first Earl of Northumberland in 1377. The Percy family also owned Alnwick Castle which is a much more substantial fortification, but this was the preferred home of the Percy family.

Earl Henry helped dethrone Richard II and replace him with Henry IV. The earl and his eldest son Henry "Hotspur" Percy fell out with the new king, and eventually rebelled. After Hotspur was killed at the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403, his father fled to Warkworth. The earl eventually went to York to submit to the king. He was arrested and the king attempted to install his own men at the castles of Alnwick, Langley, Prudhoe, and Warkworth. The earl's 14-year-old son claimed that he was loyal to the king but was not empowered to formally surrender the castle, and it remained under control of the Percys. Henry was pardoned in 1404.
The Castle fell into disrepair after the unification of England and Scotland and the Percy family no longer needed two large Castles and took up residence at Alnwick. The Castle was further pillaged during the English Civil War and the stone from the outer wall used as building material elsewhere around the region.

Tags:   Warkworth Castle Northumbria Northumberland Castle Keep Percy Coquet

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