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Explore This! Castles of Wales and England
I dislike being redundant, but all of the other books I’ve read lately gave me no inspiration for this post, so it seems we remain in Great Britain for this weeks post. But I am heading in a different direction, so hopefully you enjoy 🙂
I have just finished reading The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory, a master of historical fiction. In her most recent novel, we follow the life of Lady Margaret Beaufort/Tudor/Stafford/Stanley, which may not mean anything to those of you not big on historical fiction, but she may be better known to you as Henry VII’s mother and Henry VIII’s grandmother. How’s that for lineage?
I’ve included here what I’m sure is a small portion of castles to be found within Wales, where Lady Margaret lived for a short time during her marriage to Edmund Tudor before his untimely demise, and in England, where she lived with her subsequent husbands, Henry Stafford and Lord Thomas Stanley. These castles or residences are all mentioned within the pages of The Red Queen.
These are just a few of the names mentioned in The Red Queen and a much smaller percentage of the castles still available to view today. This is one of the things that make me feel the large difference between North American living and that of Britain/Europe, where there is so much (ancient) history at every turn. These pictures enforce my life long desire to do a castle tour of Great Britain (to date, I’ve only seen a handful throughout Scotland….I intend to change this sometime in my life!) Now where did I put my map…..?
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*drools a bit* Did I tell you all I looooooooove castles. Sigh, now why wasn't I born back then. i love the Normal style ones
Wonderful pictures. I can never get enough of castles. Thanks!
@Blodeuedd – Keep in mind back then there were lots of drafts, with no central heating or a/c! And everybody died of old age around 40….a time machine would be cool though, right? LOL
@Susanna – Yep, me too! Thanks 🙂
Oh my.
Now I just want to jump on the next plane and go visit those places. Totally my dream to visit those castles and places…
@May – Remember to stop by and pick me up on your way!
The Tower of London was my most favorite part of my visit to London a few years back. I hope to one day see some more castles up close. Thanks for the pictures!
@Scorpio – I'm so jealous! I can't wait to see the Tower! Gosh, one of these days, *sigh. Thanks for stopping by.
oh I really love your post Jackie
I dream of touring Great Britain to see its castles!
I've seen the Castle of London once but I didn't visit it. Just saw it from outside. Still pretty impressive. =)
I just love Castles! I have a huuuuuge Medieval castle in my city…and I mean right in the middle of the city lol. (a pic I took Castle of Sedan )
@Caroline – Thanks for the pic! Toronto's only castle is Casa Loma, which was built in 1911, lol; beautiful but not full of history. Is Sedan open for tourists? I'd be there everyday…
@Caroline – Thanks for the pic! Toronto's only castle is Casa Loma, which was built in 1911, lol; beautiful but not full of history. Is Sedan open for tourists? I'd be there everyday…
@Jackie Hehe yeah not that old yet. But in a few centuries Casa Loma will do the trick 😉
Oh yes, it's the main tourist attraction of the city. You can visit it, it's impressive. You can even visit at night with torches. I can't count the number of times I've visited it 😉 Not a month ago two of my friends got married and took wedding pics there.
@Caroline – Visit by torches? Sounds awesome! I'm gonna add "your" castle to my wish list too!
I love castles though I never visited one.
@Jenny – There's just something romantic about castles, right?
I love castles!! Historical fiction is amazing.. I would love to check this book out!
I have always thought I was born in the wrong century…and this isn't helping! lol
@Sugar – I hear ya. But then, when you read about the role women played back then it was truly only a handful of lucky ones that didn't get burned for witchcraft or beheaded, etc., not to mention the ones that were just plain ignored or underappreciated. Just gotta find a Renaissance Festival, etc. to enjoy that time while living in the present 🙂
Jackie!!! I love Renaissance Festivals!!! And I am trying to NOT be burned as a witch now..so I suppose it would be hard back then too! lol
And plumbing is a good thing too 🙂
@Sugar – Yes! Good point about the plumbing 🙂
I have kept on telling myself to read Phillipa Greogry's books because it'd be good for me and fun, but so far, nada. Maybe I will with this one.
Castles are fun to look at and fun to visit, but I like central heating too much to even want to live in one.
@cories5 – Gregory is definitely worth looking into. She gives an interesting look into some of the lesser known figures in history that were influential to the bigger personalities with her own fictional twists.
And here, here for the central heating!