More Castles!

After spending 4 days in Coventry, we were happy to be retuning to Edinburgh. We loved the flat in Coventry, but it didn't seem to have air conditioning. Even with the windows open, it was rather hot upstairs at night. And, Edinburgh definitely feels like home to us right now! We got packed as much as we could the night before so that we could get an early start. We were able to get out around 8:30 in the morning, and Cole looked up a few castles that we could visit along the way.

After about 2 hours, our first stop was Conisbrough Castle. It was a cute little castle, it didn't look as big as some of the others that we've visited. At first, we couldn't find anyone in the office. And, when the man appeared, he told me that the castle is closed to the public on Thursdays and Fridays. This isn't publicized on the web page, though. So, we had no way of knowing this until we showed up! Cole and I were a little disappointed, but also a little happy to know that we could get back on the road quickly. Katie was rather upset and kept telling me to ask if she could go in. In the end, we were able to spend about 30 minutes running around outside the castle while Cole bought large lollipops and more pop guns for the kids. Claire had been a bit grumpy and this shut her up! (Notice, she's not in any of the pictures for this stop!)

After another 2 hours, we stopped at Tynemouth Priory and Castle. Wow! It's on a rocky headland overlooking the River Tyne that enters into the North Sea. The ruins of the Benedictine priory are right there with the moated castle-towers, gatehouse, and keep. Hence the name Tynemouth Priory and Castle. The coat of arms of the village of Tynemouth includes three crowns since the priory is the burial place for three kings.

This was another large castle with plenty of room for the girls to run around! Since we were right on the water, not only did we have beautiful views, but we also had lots of wind. The girls thought that was loads of fun since Katie's skirt kept billowing out. Once inside the grounds, they ran around and climbed on the ruins. They found an old burial site that had two big stone tombs. The girls, of course, had to climb in them and claim them as their beds! Claire even had to pretend she was asleep.

At the castle, there was a cannon and a large gun. This is always a sure-fire hit with our girls! They had to climb on top and get plenty of pictures taken. And, they all had to stare down the barrel of the big gun. Ugh! With the graveyard on site, we had a hard time keeping track of where the girls were all the time. They kept disappearing behind tombstones. I don't think they ever wanted to leave. But, once they were promised some popsicles, they were ok with the idea. We played at this castle for at least an hour and a half.

When we finally got back, we were pretty happy. It really did feel like we had returned home. The trip back seemed to be much slower than the trip there, but breaking it up with castle visits every 2 hours helped make it more enjoyable! The girls seemed a lot happier and they didn't watch any movies or play with the "pink games" (Nintendo DS lites) at all! Plus, Cindy didn't hit a single curb on the way back. This trip was definitely a success!