Castle Rising

Today we visited one of the largest and best preserved keeps in England, here in the village of Castle Rising, Norfolk. Building started in 1138 and by the 14th century it had become the luxurious residence of Queen Isabella, widow and alleged murderess of Edward II.  

Wandering around the draughty Great Hall, kitchen and bed chamber and up and down cold, stone staircases, it was relatively easy to imagine the deprivations of life in medieval times. Today's icy wind would have found its way through shuttered windows hung with tapestries, and visits to the "long-drop" toilets positioned over the keep walls must have been chilling affairs.

For all our modern ills, I'm so glad I am alive now!