Taping the knowledge of NSC......Castles?

[Lady Whistledown]

All that remains of the original medieval castle, is the Great Hall, which is worth a visit, and contains King Arthur's legendary round table

What, the ACTUAL round table

 

[willyfantastic]

Mondays? lol

Mondays and Wednesdays (I put thursday erroneously, think thats in Brighton) are student nights in Canterbury, they have 2 universities in/around the city so those are the nights they are out getting battered

Friday night is Friday night

 

[spongy]

Hever Castle is great. And there's plenty of Tudor related history to learn about. And although not technically a castle, Hampton Court Palace was good too.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

What, the ACTUAL round table

As with all matters of ancient history / legend, there is always debate, but yes, according to them it is (or more accurately, the round table, upon which that part of the King Arthur legend, was based)


http://www3.hants.gov.uk/greathall/roundtable-new.htm

"The Rounde Table at Wynchestere beganne, and ther it ende, and ther it hangeth yet" John Hardyng, Chronicle of England (1463)

According to legend, the Round Table which hangs in the Great Hall of Winchester Castle is the table around which King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table met, and it has been famous for centuries for its associations with the legendary 'Once and Future King'. Although we now know that it originated many centuries later, the table’s mystique still remains.

It was probably created in about 1290, for a tournament near Winchester to celebrate the betrothal of one of Edward I’s daughters. When the table was taken down from the wall and investigated by a team of scientists in 1976, tree ring evidence and carbon dating placed it in the 13th or early 14th century which supports that idea.

Originally it was a standing table with 12 outer legs and a central support. It measures 5.5 metres in diameter, weighs 1200kg and was constructed from English oak. It has hung on the west wall of the Great Hall, Winchester since 1873, when it was moved from the east wall where it had hung since at least 1540, and possibly since 1348.

In the early years of King Henry VIII’s reign the table was painted with the Tudor Rose at its centre and is thought to portray Henry as King Arthur on his throne, surrounded by 24 places for his Knights of the Round Table.

 

[KZNSeagull]

What about the cultural hotspot of the United Kingdom..........NewCASTLE?

 

[Moshe Gariani]

If you find yourself travelling through East Sussex then get off the train at Pevensey... historic church, castle ruins and pub with garden all walking from train station...

 

[CheeseRolls]

Peever I would recommend you avoid Warwick and Arundel. The first is a glorified Mediaeval theme park, the latter a country house dressed up as a castle. The grounds at Arundel and the town itself are well worth a visit though. Petworth House could be teamed with Arundel, if I haven't put you off, as could Lewes Castle, which again is surrounded by a fascinating town. I think others have covered the local highlights well enough.

Further afield Cardiff and Edinburgh have fantastic settings for their castles, although more interesting tours are available nearby (Stirling for example) As previously mentioned the Welsh borders are stuffed with great castles, but I would also recommend Hadrian's Wall. The central section is stunning and the Roman fortresses are fascinating.

In the Midlands Coombe Abbey is good for a Mediaeval banquet and I would recommend this over Warwick.

 

[Lady Whistledown]

 

[tinycowboy]

Dover Castle is worth a visit, so is Lewes. Stokesay Castle is quite interesting, as long as you get the headphones. If you're in Shropshire though, forget the castles and go here - it's a great day out (if you like follies):

http://www.hawkstoneparkfollies.co.uk/

 

[Goldstone1976]

Berkeley Castle, Glos. Very beautiful and full of history. Owned by the same family for n hundred years, where n is pretty large (7? 8?). Edward II was murdered there by a hot poker....

 

[brakespear]

Restormel Castle in Cornwall I seem to remember being quite nice when I went there with school. Here's a picture I got from their website :

 

[half time scores]

Cardiff as mentioned before is wonderful especially the interior of the house.
also nearby is Castell Coch a fairytale of a castle.

 

[Giraffe]

View attachment 47508

That made me smile.

 

[Fitzcarraldo]

If you got to Portsmouth for the day you could see some FORTS as well as CASTLES.

Fort Nelson on Portsdown Hill is quite interesting:


Then you could go to Portchester Castle, although there isn't much to it:


THEN you could go to the seafront and look round Southsea Castle and then the Round Tower from where you can look out over the SEAFORTS.


Actually, you'd probably be best not doing all that in one day. Could all get a bit much.

 

[backson]

If military history is your thing, and you're down this way, although not a castle, Newhaven Fort is worth a visit

 

[Norman Potting]

Carisbrooks Castle on the Isle of Wight is nice

 

[Lady Whistledown]

That made me smile.

There's probably a few would have to right-click on the image to work out who the hell it is.

I'd confess I wasn't entirely familiar with her face.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

There's probably a few would have to right-click on the image to work out who the hell it is.

I'd confess I wasn't entirely familiar with her face.

You've not posted Andrew Castle, yet. chop chop

 

[Curious Orange]

Guildford Castle is a proper old Norman castle... and takes about 10 minutes to do a full tour of, but the gardens are nice.

 

[CheeseRolls]

Not castles as such but great places for military history

http://www.vindolanda.com/

Roman fort on Hadrians Wall

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/1066-battle-of-hastings-abbey-and-battlefield/

Battle Abbey is used as a school, but the exhibition and grounds cover the famous Battle of Hastings.

http://www.historicdockyard.co.uk/

We are not supposed to say nice things about Portsmouth on here, but there is plenty to see and the tour of the Victory, in particular is highly recommended. We really do have it easy these days

http://www1.rmg.co.uk/ If you are in London a boat trip down to Greenwich to see the Cutty Sark and the National Maritime Museum is not a bad day out.