Castle Rising

Norfolk isn't somewhere I'd immediately associate with castles and fortifications. With no necessity to defend against enemies, it's more a county of stately homes and rural retreats. There are, though, some to be found - 'humps and lumps' at Castle Acre, ruins at Baconsthorpe - of which I feel the best is Castle Rising.

The castle sits beside the village of the same name, not far from King's Lynn. From a distance it seems hidden, crouching behind the remains of encircling walls, now an earthen bank which can be walked round.

From the vantage point of the walls, the castle seems like a model, but up close its height is striking .

This wasn't a castle aimed at defense but something more akin to a country house/hunting lodge.

It's been well-preserved and restored, so you can walk up the grand staircase which visitors would have used - whether on business or pleasure.

The details on arches and doorways show this to have been a very fine residence indeed.

The floor of the main hall collapsed long ago but a corridor to its side allows you to explore.

And if you're more nimble than I am, you can go higher up a winding stairway. It's a place full of atmosphere, where it's easy to imagine past residents going about their lives.

 

Holiday time again - Norfolk

It took me a while to discover Norfolk (I think I was over 40) but once I did I fell in love with it. Long expanses of salt marsh, beaches stretching as far as the eye can see, and the immense (hopefully blue) sky above. So, looking for a short break, with a promise of good weather, we headed east.

I had definite ideas about where I wanted to go, and places I wanted to visit. Top of my list was King Charles' Norfolk home, Sandringham. It's now part of the RHS Partner gardens scheme, which means that as a member entrance is free for me. While I was visiting, I thought I might as well drop in next door on one side, to Houghton Hall's award winning walled garden, also part of the RHS Partner gardens scheme, and, on the other, to the ruins at Castle Rising. 

Of course, any trip to Norfolk involves a stop-over at Belton House to break the journey, a visit to the beach (Old Hunstanton), and the salt-marches, and a fish and chip supper.

Through AirBnB we found a lovely traditional cottage at Dersingham, hardly a few miles from any of these places, and spent the one really wet morning of our stay exploring the flower-filled country lanes just outside the village.


 

A Day Out in Norfolk

Last weekend, our teen was going to visit a friend who lives at quite a distance and we decided to have a day out too. Getting up early to visit friends is far easier than getting up to go to school or even to go on holiday so rather amazingly the Teen was dropped off and we'd travelled an extra hour to arrive at Castle Rising shortly before 11!

Castle Rising is a typical child's idea of how a castle should look - just like those that come from upturned buckets of sand - even with a flag on top.

There are passages and stairways to explore inside....

 ..but remember to watch out for 12th century hazards!















From there we headed north up the coast stopping first at Heacham..... with looming black clouds..

 ...then Hunstanton - where for a while the weather was sunny..

..even though there were still hazards to watch out for!

 Away from the hustle and bustle of slot-machines and chip shops there are strangely coloured cliffs

 and quiet waters

 but the dark clouds were still following us

 so we moved further north to Brancaster Beach with its sands stretching as far as the eye can see.