As you can see the castle itself is very dramatic and dominates the coast line.
The principle castle remains date from the 14th century when the Earl of Lancaster (a cousin of Edward II of England) began the construction of a massive fortress which was later enlarged by John of Gaunt.
The castle is the largest in Northumberland enclosing the entire 11 acres of headland but it didn’t play a significant part in the border warfare with Scotland. During the wars of the roses (between 1455 and 1485) the castle was held for the Lancastrians. The extensive damages that is sustained from canon during this time were not repaired and the castle fell into decay.
Lovely place CherryPie, thanks for the good wishes:)
The walk was great too with the sea breeze and your welcome
Not dissimilar in aspect to Lindisfarne.
Now that you come to mention it, they are similar. I didn’t go this time and my pictures from the time I went aren’t brilliant because they are scanned from prints.
Ach It’s been a very long time since I made it to Northumberland. I must rectify that
You should it really is wonderful place with lots of photo opportunities
Very dramatic coastline I should imagine.
Not the place for sunbathing though!
I think it was a little bit windy and exposed. I didn’t manage to get to Warkworth which is supposed to be the best beach in Northumberland.
I think it is a shame when castles etc are left to decay.
I must admit there wasn’t much to see or look at when you got close to it. It must have been really impressive before it rotted away.
Beautiful pix, Cherie – and thank you for the historical background: Dunstanburgh not really on my ‘map’, so you’ve added to my knowledge.
Thank you, I am so glad you like them
I will get hold of the guidebook and see what other interesting info I can find out about it.
Northumberland is one of the places on my to-visit list. It looks lovely.
I am sure you will love it
These photos, especially the top one, look really impressive when enlarged with ‘Cool Iris’(plugin for my FF browser)
How sad the castle was never repaired.
Thank you
I love that Cool Iris plug in for photos. I love to browse away with that
It must have been a fantastic Castle. You can practically hear the stones speak…
I must have been really impressive when it was fully intact