Last Thursday in June and we visited Alnwick (pronounced Anick) castle and gardens in Northumberland. For any Harry Porter fans out there Alnwick castle is Hogworts (at least the outdoor shots.) and you can see why it was chosen. The Castle can only be described and Magnificent. It is in everything you expect of an English castle – huge outter crenalated wall, surounded by a moat (now dry), with an inner Keep fit for a king. It is the home of the Duke & Duchess of Northumberland and has been owned by the percy family for over 700 years.

The Keep was converted from a Garrison fort into a stately home some 200 years ago and within the rooms you will paintings by Turner, Canelleto, Titian, Van Dyke, Dobson and many others, but the expensive items in the collection are two Baroque cabinets made by Domenico Cucci for King Louis XIV’s palace of Versailles in 1683. These are the sole surviving items from Versailles, everything else was destroyed in the French Revolution.

We spent 2- 3 hours in the Castle – and still didnt see everything. We then spent a further 2 hours in Gardens – which are also maginficent, and again we probably saw about half of what is there, and we didnt get to the Tree House restrurant. (Be aware the Caslte, Gardens and tree House are separate attractions, with separate bookings needed)

To do the site justice I have divided the images between Castle & Garden – enjoy.