Alnwick Castle (Harry Potter) Great Britain England

Alnwick Castle (Harry Potter) Great Britain England (6/13/2016)

Here’s to Harry Potter fans and a LOT MORE...

Alnwick Castle - Great Britain

Alnwick Castle has been featured in many films. It is sometimes referred to as the ‘Harry Potter’ castle - fans of the movie will recognize the Alnwick Castle as Hogwarts in the first films. Downtown Abbey fans will recognize it as the fictional Brancaster Castle, the setting of the 2015 Christmas special as well as the final episode.

Ariel View  of
Alnwick Castle

Alnwick Castle (pronounced ‘annick’) is one of the great castles in England. Little has changed to the exterior since the 14^th century when the main castle and wall were constructed.

Massive wealth handed down from William the Conqueror is represented in this 700-year-old ancestral home of the Duke of Northumberland – the family of the 14^th Duke makes Alnwick Castle home for 5 months of the year.

Stunning 
Dining Room - 
Alnwick Castle

Updated in the 1850’s and framed by paintings, the interior staterooms are splendidly extravagant. Six of them are open to the public. The dining room is stunning. There are knowledgeable people in every room to ask questions and many different tours of Alnwick Castle and Gardens are available included in the price of admission.

Beautiful Alnwick Gardens

Wonderfully cared for, the Alnwick Gardens are also incredible – one of the most unique and interesting we have visited. The Grand Cascade has 120 jets making a beautiful display of water. There are six separate distinctive gardens including a Rose Garden, Ornamental Garden, and even a Poison Garden that has some of the deadliest plants in the world. The Bamboo Labyrinth is really fun. There are also cafes and gift shop at the Alnwick Castle.

Important travel tip: Please be aware that the family that owns Alnwick Castle and Gardens live in it for a period of time of each year and it is closed to visitors November through most of March. You can check their website to see if it is open during your visit to England.

Pretty English Garden - 
Alnwick, Great Britain

The castle overlooks the old town of Alnwick. Because we had visited so many wonderful medieval towns in England on our trip (see other travel posts), we were not overly impressed with Alnwick. There are some restaurants and the atmospheric bookshop (Barter Books) located in Victorian former railway station is notable.

Important driving tip: Because many of the roads in England are smaller country roads with many confusing roundabouts, getting lost is not hard. In fact, it can be fun if you can get back on track.

Here is a wonderful tip... Make sure you have GPS - if from the car rental company ask for a lesson. The postal code in Great Britain typically has enough information to direct you to your hotel or destination. So, look up postal codes for your hotels and destinations so you can enter them in as you go through your day of explorations. We used a centrally located church or hotel for the villages. Sometimes the GPS asks to confirm the street name and number, so also having an address helps. Also, often just putting in the town/village name will take you to the right direction and you can follow signs to the town center.

Please see our other 12 travel blog posts on Great Britain:

York, England

Beautiful COTWOLDS Bilbury Burton Stow Slaugher Woodstock Burford Minster Lovell Oxford England

Lake District (England's Most Visited National Park)

Highclere Castle (Downton Abby), England

Stonehenge, England

Stratford-Upon-Avon, England (Birthplace of Shakespere)

England's Southern Coast Canterbury Rye Sandwich Salisbury, England 

Hadrian's Wall, England

Beamish Museum, England

Chester, England

Magnificent Castle Howard, England  

 

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