A Northumblerland castle by the sea

I’m sitting at the computer as I type, wondering if I’ve ever seen so many castles by the sea as I did in Northumberland. There were fortifications all over the place. Which is probably not that surprising given this was an area that has seen many an invasion, and needed to be heavily defended.

We tend to think of the island of Great Britain as merely three countries. Hey, England, Scotland and Wales have been around for a long time. But before that were smaller kingdoms like Bernica. There were battles between the Anglo-Saxons and the Britons. There were the Vikings. And then there were the battles between England and Scotland before they came under the same monarch.

No small wonder that there were plenty of castles, and the coast made for the perfect spot to defend against naval incursions.

We haven’t needed to worry about invasion in this country for some time now. Now castles remain only to provide a bit of history. And to look nice as well. There’s something quite wonderful looking about a castle stood next to the sea after all.