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The Hadrian’s Wall Adventure (Part 4) – Warkworth Castle & Tynemouth Priory and Castle

By Adventures, Friends & Family, Happiness & Joy, Life, NatureNo Comments
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Simon (right) and me (left) at a services stop for dinner.

 This is the fourth part in my Hadrian’s Wall Adventure with my good friend Simon. You can read and see the photos from Part 1 here, Part 2 here and Part 3 here.

Yesterday Simon and I set out to do the last leg of our Hadrian’s Wall Adventure. It was my birthday. The day was gorgeous, sunny, around 19°C all day and not a cloud in the beautiful blue sky.

There aren’t many specific Hardrian’s Wall sites near the Newcastle end of where the wall would have been. So we decided to do Castles near Newcastle.

Our first castle was the magnificent impressive Warkworth Castle. Before you see the photos, first let me apologise for any fingerprint marks on them. The lens of my iPhone had fingerprint marks on, but I didn’t realise because of the bright sunshine.

Here is Essential Info and are some photos:

Essential Info:

  • A castle including remains and a keep with Duke room’s.
  • Highly recommended.
  • Admission Fee: Adult £7.50 with gift aid (£6.80 without). Free admission to English Heritage Members.
  • Opening times: View here.
  • Parking: Plenty in front of the Castle. However even English Heritage Members are required to pay (rather than the usual free parking with sticker in car). The shop does refund the cost of parking, but this was disappointing and we could seen no reason for this.
  • Toilets: Available in the carpark.
  • Has a very small gift shop. Free audible guides available.

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Entrance to Walkworth Castle.
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Outside of Walkworth Castle.
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The most well preserved keep.
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Remains of Walkworth Castle (1).
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Remains of Walkworth Castle (2).
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A selfie of Simon (right) and me (left).
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An iron fireplace in the Duke’s rooms inside the keep.
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The view from inside the Duke’s rooms.
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A view from an archway (1).
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A view from an archway (2).
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One of the many tunnels to rooms in the remains.

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Our next stop was Tynemouth Priory and Castle. Here is Essential Info and are some photos:

Essential Info:

  • A priory, castle and World War 2 defence station.
  • Highly recommended.
  • Admission Fee: Adult £6.50 with gift aid (£5.90 without). Free admission to English Heritage Members.
  • Opening times: View here.
  • Parking: Follow signs for free parking.
  • Has a small gift shop.

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The view from the top of the hill near the entrance to Tynemouth (1).
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The view from the top of the hill near the entrance to Tynemouth (2).
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Tynemouth Priory and Castle remains (1).
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Tynemouth Priory and Castle remains (2).
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Tynemouth Priory and Castle remains (3).
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Stone coffins.
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Simon (right) and me (left) in the stone coffins. I couldn’t believe that we both fitted perfectly.
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Tynemouth Priory and Castle remains (4).
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A carving that looked similar to The Green Man on the entrance to the priory.
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Tynemouth Priory.
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Tynemouth Priory stained glass window (1).
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Tynemouth Priory stained glass window (2).
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Tynemouth Priory stained glass window (3).
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Tynemouth Priory stained glass window (4).
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Inside the Priory, photo of Priory door. Reminded me of the door to heaven.
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Tynemouth graveyard and World War 2 defence tower.
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Tynemouth World War 2 defence gun.
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Shells for the gun in bunker.
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Tynemouth Lighthouse.

We had a great time. Next year we are going to visit the fine city of Newcastle including Newcastle’s castle.

Blog soon,

Antony

Edit: 16/05/18 18:30 – Used GIMP to remove some of the finger prints in some of the above photos. If you click on the photos for full size, you will see the updated photos.

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Tuesday 15 May 2018

The Stonehenge Adventure (Part 3) – Stonehenge and Woodhenge

By Adventures, Friends & Family, Happiness & Joy, PaganismNo Comments

This is the third and final part of my adventure to see Stonehenge and other ancient sites nearby with my good friend Simon. In part 1 I blogged about Avebury Stone Circles. In part 2 I blogged about Glastonbury, The Chalice Well and the city of Wells. In this part I will blog about Stonehenge and Woodhenge.

Stonehenge is perhaps the most well known and one of the oldest stone circles in the world. It is not only a World Heritage Site but also 1 of the 7 Wonders of the World.

Stonehenge is managed by English Heritage and the on-site Visitor Centre includes an exhibition, reconstructed neolithic houses, audio guide handsets, a cafe and gift shop.

Stonehenge its self is a short bus ride away from the visitor centre and busses are provided as part of the admission price (as is access to the exhibition, access to neolithic houses and use of audio guides). The stones themselves are roped off, not allowing the thousands of visitors per day to get too close. Here are some photos:

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An illustration of how they think ancient man moved the Stonehenge stones from Wales to England.
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A hut ancient man lived in whilst building Stonehenge (1).
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A hut ancient man lived in whilst building Stonehenge (2).
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Examples of pottery that ancient people would have had.
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Examples of tools that ancient people would have had.
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Stonehenge (1).
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Obligatory Stonehenge Selfie.
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Stonehenge (2).
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Stonehenge (3).
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Stonehenge (4).
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Stonehenge (5).
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Stonehenge (6).
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Stonehenge (7).
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Stonehenge (8).
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A crow opening its beak and cawing to try and get food from tourists.
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Stonehenge Merchandise: Stonehenge as it would have looked in a tin.

Essential Info

  • Stonehenge is the remains of an ancient stone circle. The site includes a Visitor Centre which includes: exhibition, reconstructed neolithic houses, audio guide handsets, a cafe, toilets and gift shop.
  • Highly Recommended.
  • Opening Times: For opening times click here.
  • Admission Price: £18.20 (with gift aid) and £16.50 (without gift aid).
  • Parking: Free on-site.

Woodhenge is a series of concrete posts in the ground where the poles of wood that made up Woodhenge would have been. Simon and I both felt that the site, managed by English Heritage, was a missed opportunity to recreate Woodhenge, restoring it to its forma glory. Here are some photos of Woodhenge:

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Concrete stones representing where the poles of Woodhenge would have been.
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A burial of a baby at the centre of Woodhenge. Nothing is known about the baby or reason for burial.


Essential Info

  • Woodhenge is a series of concrete posts in the ground where the poles of wood that made up Woodhenge would have been.
  • Recommended.
  • Opening Times: Any reasonable time during daylight hours.
  • Admission Price: Free.
  • Parking: Plenty of free parking on the street.

Write soon,

Antony



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Saturday 24 June 2017

The Stonehenge Adventure (Part 2) – Glastonbury, The Chalice Well and The City of Wells

By Adventures, Friends & Family, Happiness & Joy, PaganismNo Comments

At the weekend my good friend Simon and I went on an adventure to see Stonehenge and other ancient sites nearby. This is part 2 of my Stonehenge Adventure, part 1 can be read here.

We stayed in this Travelodge hotel. It was super cheap, clean and located close to amenities such as the various restaurants/food places in Solstice Park. Our room had a double bed and a single bed. On the single bed I could feel every spring on my back. I complained to a member of Travelodge staff, who said that all the single beds were the same and gave me a double duvet to put on top of it. The double duvet made little difference.

On the Saturday Simon and I had all you can eat cooked breakfast at the Toby Carvery on Solstice Park before heading off to Glastonbury.

Glastonbury is like a pagan commercial mecca. There are so many shops that fit into the categories of new age, spiritual or pagan. There are at least two charming courtyards with little tiny shops in. Sadly many of the shops are over priced. Some were so significantly over priced that they could be called a ripoff and make a person’s eyes water.

Some photos from Glastonbury:

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Glastonbury town centre monument.
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Entrance sign to one of a few courtyards.
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A crystal shrine in one of the courtyards.

The Goddess and The Green Man shop deserves a special mention. Their products were fantastic with many unique items, the customer service was friendly and tremendous and to top it off their prices were fair and reasonable. It felt like The Goddess and The Green Man was the only truly pagan/witchy shop in Glastonbury.

I bought this stunning Horned God Statue and Spellcraft for Hedge Witches by Rae Beth book from The Goddess and The Green Man:

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A Horned God Statue purchased from The Goddess and The Green Man.

In Glastonbury I also bought a small wand from a street seller for a bargain price of £5.

Since coming home I’ve followed The Goddess and The Green Man on Facebook and saved their website.

Essential Info:

  • Glastonbury is a town with a rich pagan history.
  • Cautiously recommended. Be cautious about rip off prices in some shops.
  • Opening Times: Normal shop opening hours.
  • Parking: Pay and display carparks, £7-8 for a full day of parking.
  • Food, Drink & Toilets: Available in the various cafes and pubs locally.

The Chalice Well is a beautiful garden and well. The atmosphere at the Chalice garden and well is that of zen-like meditation. Here are some photos from the Chalice Well:

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The Chalice Well sign.
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Chalice Well.
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You can drink from the well.
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One of a few ponds within the gardens of the Chalice Well.

Essential Info:

  • The Chalice Well is a beautiful garden and well.
  • Recommended.
  • Opening Times: See Opening Times here.
  • Admission: Adult £4.30 (without gift aid) and £4.75 (with gift aid).
  • Parking: No parking on site. Pay and display carpark a short walk away.
  • Gift shop on site.

The City of Wells was alive with the hustle and bustle of a Saturday outdoor market. Simon and I looked for somewhere to eat, but everywhere was ridiculously priced. Then I spotted a burger stall on the outdoor market. We ordered a burger each. I have never ate a burger that tasted so good. If you’re in Wells and want an tasty treat, go to the outdoor market and order yourself something from the burger stall.

Here are some photos from our time in Wells:

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Gate/Entrance to The Bishop’s Palace.
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Garden at The Bishop’s Palace.
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A watch tower on the wall at The Bishop’s Palace.
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Apparently in Wells they have a swan that can ring a bell. I didn’t see a swan, but I did see this bell.
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Fireplace in the watch tower at The Bishop’s Palace.
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Me in a arrow slit.
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A big dancing event was taking place in Wells.
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Wells Cathedral.

Essential Info:

  • The City of Wells has a Cathedral, Bishop’s Palace and some shops.
  • Recommended.
  • Opening Times: Normal shop opening hours.
  • Admission: Vary depending on attraction/places of interest.
  • Parking: Various pay and display carparks.

In part 3, I’ll be blogging about Stonehenge and Woodhenge.

Write soon,

Antony



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Tuesday 20 June 2017

The Stonehenge Adventure (Part 1) – Avebury Stone Circles

By Adventures, Friends & Family, Happiness & Joy, PaganismNo Comments

At the weekend my good friend Simon and I went on an adventure to see Stonehenge and other ancient sites nearby. Throughout the weekend it was gloriously sunny and hot. It was so hot that being the car was like being in an oven. Our first stop was at Avebury Stone Circles.

Avebury is a series of three stone circles, one large one with two others within it. The outer stone circle spans the size of a village. Here are some photos:

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The Dovecote – Built in the 16th century to house doves (or pigeons) which were kept as food.
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Avebury outer stone circle stones (1).
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Avebury outer stone circle stones (2).
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Entrance to inner stone circle.
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The Sanctuary an inner stone circle (from a distance).
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The Sanctuary entrance stones.
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The Sanctuary stone circle.
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A stone nicknamed The Crown, because of its likeness to one.
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An outer stone (to show the size of the stones.)
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A photo of me with an outer stone (to show the size of the stones.)
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The wishing trees.
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Ribbons and other things tied on to the wishing trees.
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Sheep in the shade under a tree.

Avebury stone circles were amazing. I felt the tingling of energy on my head and fingers as I entered and left the boundary of the outer stone circle. It felt like static electricity.

Essential Info:

  • A series of three stone circles (managed by English Heritage), museum, manor house and garden (managed by The National Trust).
  • Highly recommended.
  • Admission Fees & Opening Times: The stone circles are free entry and open at any reasonable time in daylight hours. For the museum, manor house and gardening admission prices and opening times click here.
  • Car Parking: Charged at around £4.00.
  • Gift shops: There are two gift shops. The first is a National Trust one. The second is a private gift shop that is extortionately over priced and makes the National Trust shop look cheap in comparison.

In Part 2 of The Stonehenge Adventure, I’ll be blogging about our stay in a Travelodge, the pagan commercial mecca which was Glastonbury, the beautiful Chalice Well and the city of Wells.

Write soon,

Antony



I aim for posts on this blog to be informative, educational and entertaining. If you have found this post useful or enjoyable, please consider making a contribution by Paypal:


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Monday 19 June 2017
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