Ah Hah! Another Castle! Well, this one is from my trip down to Wales at Easter. I just haven't had time to put the remaining pictures on here, but I thought I'd take a few minutes at lunch today and do a few while I'm giving my mind a break from thinking about sixteenth-century views of John Wycliffe. Anyway, this is Chirk Castle. Apparently, the castle is 700 years old and is a 'marcher fortress' which has a lovely view of the surrounding country. The illustrious, or infamous, Roger Mortimer built it while serving as the Justice of North Wales for Edward I. Roger Mortimer wasn't a nice guy in some ways. He was one of the noblemen who was unhappy with Edward II and Edward's reliance on the Despencer family and so he rebelled. Edward's wife Isabella was not pleased with her husband's behaviour either, so she went to France and there became involved romantically with Roger Mortimer. The two of them planned an invasion of England and were successful in putting Edward II to flight. They captured him and forced him to abdicate the throne to Edward III, his young son. (Edward II was later mysteriously murdered at Berkeley Castle!) Roger Mortimer, unfortunately, let all of his new found power go to his head and he angered many of the noblemen who eventually stirred up the young Edward III to take him prisoner. Roger was sent to the Tower of London and was shortly thereafter hanged for assuming royal power. Nice story, ey? Anyway, here is a view of his former piece of property from down in the car park. It's a nice building.
This next picture is of the side of the castle as I am making my way to the gardens. We got to the castle too late to tour the inside, but the grounds were delightful! Apparently, this castle was sold for 5,000 pounds in 1595 to Sir Thomas Myddelton and his descendents lived in part of the castle up until recently. What I heard from Mark's mom Kay, who is a tour guide in the castle, is that the family have turned over the castle to the care of the National Trust and don't officially live in it anymore. But to maintain good relations with the family, they are sometimes allowed to hold family gatherings in there. How fun would that be?
This is a lovely chess set in the walled garden. The pieces are the size of small children, so imagine playing a game with this set.
Here is a view of part of the gardens. We had a nice time wandering around here and doing a few cartwheels along the lovely flat stretches of lawn! That was Mark and I. Mark is a martial arts guy and can do decent carthweels. I know, I know, that gymnast side of me has not truely died, though I have learned my lesson about tumbling on the lawn and did restrict myself to harmless cartwheels! So, no worries about dangerous injuries. Besides, my body is too old for backhandsprings on such surfaces and my right ankle aches with the thought of such things! Poor thing, it's had a hard life of it.
Another view of the gardens. This time with me in the picture--obviously standing still and not doing any more cartwheels. Those actually made me a bit dizzy.
I always enjoy the sculpting of the hedges in England. This is a nice little spot to rest in and might be a romantic place for interested couples.
Here we are in front of the castle entrance. Mark, Luz, and I. We borrowed a man who was passing buy to take the picture. It was nice of him. Anyway, we had a nice afternoon up at Chirk Castle.
Ah Hah! Another Castle! Well, this one is from my trip down to Wales at Easter. I just haven't had time to put the remaining pictures on here, but I thought I'd take a few minutes at lunch today and do a few while I'm giving my mind a break from thinking about sixteenth-century views of John Wycliffe. Anyway, this is Chirk Castle. Apparently, the castle is 700 years old and is a 'marcher fortress' which has a lovely view of the surrounding country. The illustrious, or infamous, Roger Mortimer built it while serving as the Justice of North Wales for Edward I. Roger Mortimer wasn't a nice guy in some ways. He was one of the noblemen who was unhappy with Edward II and Edward's reliance on the Despencer family and so he rebelled. Edward's wife Isabella was not pleased with her husband's behaviour either, so she went to France and there became involved romantically with Roger Mortimer. The two of them planned an invasion of England and were successful in putting Edward II to flight. They captured him and forced him to abdicate the throne to Edward III, his young son. (Edward II was later mysteriously murdered at Berkeley Castle!) Roger Mortimer, unfortunately, let all of his new found power go to his head and he angered many of the noblemen who eventually stirred up the young Edward III to take him prisoner. Roger was sent to the Tower of London and was shortly thereafter hanged for assuming royal power. Nice story, ey? Anyway, here is a view of his former piece of property from down in the car park. It's a nice building. 
This next picture is of the side of the castle as I am making my way to the gardens. We got to the castle too late to tour the inside, but the grounds were delightful! Apparently, this castle was sold for 5,000 pounds in 1595 to Sir Thomas Myddelton and his descendents lived in part of the castle up until recently. What I heard from Mark's mom Kay, who is a tour guide in the castle, is that the family have turned over the castle to the care of the National Trust and don't officially live in it anymore. But to maintain good relations with the family, they are sometimes allowed to hold family gatherings in there. How fun would that be?
This is a lovely chess set in the walled garden. The pieces are the size of small children, so imagine playing a game with this set.
Here is a view of part of the gardens. We had a nice time wandering around here and doing a few cartwheels along the lovely flat stretches of lawn! That was Mark and I. Mark is a martial arts guy and can do decent carthweels. I know, I know, that gymnast side of me has not truely died, though I have learned my lesson about tumbling on the lawn and did restrict myself to harmless cartwheels! So, no worries about dangerous injuries. Besides, my body is too old for backhandsprings on such surfaces and my right ankle aches with the thought of such things! Poor thing, it's had a hard life of it.
Another view of the gardens. This time with me in the picture--obviously standing still and not doing any more cartwheels. Those actually made me a bit dizzy.
I always enjoy the sculpting of the hedges in England. This is a nice little spot to rest in and might be a romantic place for interested couples.
Here we are in front of the castle entrance. Mark, Luz, and I. We borrowed a man who was passing buy to take the picture. It was nice of him. Anyway, we had a nice afternoon up at Chirk Castle.
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