Yorkshire Castles

According to Wikipedia, there are about 50 castles in the Yorkshire Dales. I'm glad I've got to see a few of them. It's especially challenging to get good pictures of castles, since they are so big and often high up on a rock or hill.

Appleby Castle is an intact Norman castle and manor house. It has one of the few remaining intact Norman keeps. The keep (tower) is also the oldest part of the castle, 900 years old. There was a museum inside it, which we visited. We had dinner at the castle. As I recall, I had lamb. It was good. The castle was for sale. Too bad none of us can afford it.

Appleby Castle

The Keep

Atop the Keep with Sam

Dinner in a castle

Bolton Castle is a 14th-century castle located in Wensleydale. It is one of England's best preserved medieval castles. It was originally built to be one of the finest and most luxurious homes in the land. The castle is still under the ownership of  Lord Bolton, a direct descendent of the original owner. Mary, Queen of Scots was held prisoner at Bolton for six months. In All Creatures Great and Small, James proposed to Helen at Bolton Castle. We saw the castle from the road and asked Edwin (our tour host) to drive up to it. We were unable to tour the castle, as we were there after hours. St. Oswald Church is adjacent to the castle.

Different lighting

Richmond Castle stands in a commanding position above the River Swale, close to the city center. It was constructed in 1071 after the Norman Conquest. It was derelict in 1540 and restored years later. It is one of the best preserved early Norman castles in England. According to legend, King Arthur and his knights are sleeping under the castle in a cave. During the first world war, the base of the castle was used to house conscientious objectors. It didn't end well for some of them. I did not tour this castle. I walked all the way around it and visited other places near to it.

The Keep

Believe it or not, I took this picture with my cell phone when we were driving. Colors aren't the best, but it captures almost all of the castle.  Pure luck.

I visited Middleham in 2019 as part of my animal photography tour of the Yorkshire Dales. Middleham is famous for its thriving racehorse training industry. It also has impressive castle ruins. Middleham Castle was the childhood home of Richard III, though he spent little of his reign there. The castle was built in the 12th century. I got some nice shots of sheep grazing in the foreground of the castle. There were also a lot of sheep grazing in the general vicinity of the castle. In England, you are allowed to go into the sheep pastures (public walkways).

Sheep improve the picture.

Castle environs

Castle ruins

Castle bricks

Woolly ewe near the castle