So far, on this quest, Spofforth is right up there in my top 3 (along with Stirling and Nunney castles).
The castle is in the middle of nowhere, if you weren't seeking it out, I doubt you'd just come across it. It's managed by the English Heritage and apparently building started in the 13th century. It was essentially built to be a home and manor house for a powerful family in the area.
We parked in the village and wandered up the path to find it. It is most definitely a ruin, but a beautiful one and you can still walk round.
There are some steps which means you can access the lower ground floor. It was fun imagining where the inhabitants would have had dinner and things.
It was amazing to see that some of the beautiful detail round the windows still existed, I love that kind of thing. How does it survive through all the battles?
While we were having a look round we came across a hole in the wall. Inside we found a little note, which said
'Dear Fairys, I'm in year four now. The reason I'm writing is because I haven't sened a note for a while. From Pernille.' Just so you can see the proof, here is a photo of it:
How absolutely adorable! I used to love the idea that fairies and gnomes lived in structures like this and spread their magic around, and little Pernille is very much thinking that too. We probably should have written back, but we didn't have a pen.... or any fairy dust.
Cost: free
Hints and tips: Wear some sturdy shoes as the ground is quite uneven and could be muddy in wet weather.
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