Olga and I were delighted to stop off at Alnwick Castle whilst doing a road trip around Scotland. However Alnwick Castle isn’t in Scotland, it's in the county of Northumberland which is the last county heading north along the A1 before crossing the Scottish border (we were driving from Stevenage to Perth on this day). We love exploring castles and when there is an opportunity, it has to be taken. There was another reason why we wanted to explore this castle, it’s been used in various movies and television shows (more on this later).
History, there is so much of it in Northern England and we love it. The battles with the clans in Scotland, the Vikings and Normans coming over to say hello and bring an big influence which makes the UK what it is today and of course, a lot of historical sites are built because of this, like the abbey at Lindisfarne Island, Hadrian's Wall and castles like Alnwick. The first mention of the castle was in 1136 when the Scots came down the road and captured it. Once the English recaptured it and a few financial problems to sort out with the Royals, Alnwick was rebuilt and made into a stronger fortress along the Anglo-Scottish border. Once completed, the castle had all the military might as well as providing accommodation for the Duke of Northumberland’s needs. A lot of castles in Northern England after this copied or based their fortresses on Alnwick. Between the 14th century and current day, life at the castle was pretty simple. There were a few battles and the ownership of the castle changed hands a few times, especially during the War of the Roses (some family battle between Lancaster folk and some Yorkshire folk, still trying to figure my head around that one), but the castle was hardly damaged as most of the battles were taking place in the fields.
These days the castle is a major tourist attraction but part of the site is still lived in by the Duke of Northumberland. This makes it the second largest castle lived in after Windsor Castle near London. The castle can be seen from quite a distance as we were approaching by car. The castle lies on a small hill with the River Aln flowing to the north whilst to the south there is a ravine which separates the castle from the rest of the town of Alnwick.
The other reason we came to Alnwick is because we love our movies, to which the castle was used in the first two Harry Potter movies, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (released in 2001) and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002). The two scenes we remember really well from the scenes which were filmed here is where Oliver Wood teaches Harry Potter the rules of Quidditch (still think that is a weird sport) and Madam Hooch taught the newbies to Hogwarts on how to ride a broomstick. These were filmed in the Outer Bailey. Nearby at the Inner Bailey, was the scene where Harry and Ron crashed the flying car into the Whomping Willow.
Other scenes (which were mainly used in the Philosopher’s Stone) were filmed in the main courtyard, especially the part when Ron and Harry were slagging off about Hermione on their way to the potions class. This was one moment when we stood in the main courtyard and thought about this scene being filmed. It's exactly how it is in the film as it is in real life. Don’t get us wrong, we wouldn’t say we are big fans of the film but we did enjoy watching them (we never read the books either). In tourism terms, filming locations around the UK for the Harry Potter franchise has brought a lot of money and tourists from all around the world so fans can see filming locations, like the steam train in Scotland, Kings Cross station in London and the college used in Oxford. Alnwick Castle is probably one of the least visited as it's so far away from the major touristy places in England and Scotland but is probably one of the better sights to visit, especially in the summer months. Whilst here, we found out there are a few filming location tours at the castle but we decided to do a self-guided tour instead.
Harry Potter isn’t the only movie to be filmed at Alnwick Castle. Remember Transformers: The Last Knight (2017), they were filmed here. Also Elizabeth (1998) and one of my favourite films from childhood, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991). When it comes to television dramas, the BBC’s Downton Abbey was filmed here and also the comedy Blackadder.
Whilst here checking out the amazing castle, we noticed for children there was a range of activities to educate the little ones and have fun. The one which really seemed to be a big hit was taking broomstick lessons (again, thank you Harry Potter). Children were whizzing around the courtyard, screaming, laughing, they were all having an excellent time.
We had a delightful few hours here at Alnwick Castle as we drove north towards Scotland on our road trip and this is one place definitely worth visiting if you like castles and filming locations. Best time to go is in the summer and if you get the chance, go into town for a nice lunch and a stroll around to see the buildings here. It's such a nice, pleasant town to chill out in.
For more information on the castle, please visit their official website here.
Essential information on Alnwick Castle
How to get to: The town of Alnwick and the castle lies just off the A1, the main road between Newcastle and Edinburgh. It is easier to reach if you have a car and the postcode you need for your GPS is NE66 1YU and that will take you to the car park on nearby Denham Lane. The nearest train station is Alnmouth on the East Coast mainline (the main railway line between London Kings Cross and Edinburgh which also stops at York and Newcastle). The train station is a few miles away but there is a limited bus service or taxis to bring visitors into Alnmouth.
The first place I would go to find airline tickets to the city is using (I would recommend) Skyscanner to find flights as that is my first point of call. Then if necessary use the airlines directly to find a good deal. I sometimes use Momondo as well to compare prices before booking.
Car Rentals - as I do a lot of road trips around the world, I use Rentalcars.com which is very reliable for booking car hire in advance. I also use Turo (the airbnb of car rentals) and never had a problem with them. The cars are insured, owners vetted and never had an issue.
Accommodation: There are a lot of accommodation options and a lot of websites which can do some great deals. My first point of call is always Booking.com and can offer a range of hostels, hotels, campsites, apartments, guesthouses and bed and breakfasts.. After that I always have a look through AirBnb and Vrbo for great deals on apartments and other lodgings especially when traveling as a family.
Currency: England uses the British Pound. Currency can be exchanged at the airports and train stations (for a huge fee) so I would recommend either going to a currency exchange place downtown, to a bank (if they have good rates) or if you got a good bank account with fantastic exchange rates, then use an ATM machine (may incur a small fee but I always do this option as I got good bank accounts). A great website I use to compare currency exchange rates is XE, which gives people up to date information.
Language: England uses the English language and is used all over the country. Just to point out there are many dialects and other languages like Cornish-Gaelic used in the country but everyone who speaks English will understand other dialects from other regions.
Watch out for: As far as I am aware, there are no major scams to look out for. As always in Europe, watch out for the usual pickpockets or any pretty crimes but I felt very safe at Audley End.
Travel insurance: This is essential to anywhere you go in the world. I always carry travel insurance. Having travel insurance will cover you from theft, illness and those annoying cancellations which can happen on the road. Safety Wing offers coverage for a lot of adventure activities as well as emergency medical, lost luggage, trip cancellation and so forth.
Need a visa for the UK? Always check if you need a visa when coming to the United Kingdom. Since leaving the European Union because of BrExit in January 2020, visa rules apply for those coming from the European Union.
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