Callum the Castle'saurus

Callum and Patrick were super excited to visit Pevensey.  It is a really really old Castle. Beginning in the 4th century as one of the last and strongest of the Roman 'Saxon Shore' forts, two-thirds of whose towered walls still stand. It is also famously the landing place of William the Conqueror's army in 1066.  These stairs are incredibly steep.. could you imagine when it rains or snows! It seems spring has come to this castle pond too. There are so so many tadpoles around the edges of the water. Patrick wishes they had a pond at home to have tadpole pets. What a view from the window! Callum and Patrick wonder if knights might have practiced jousting in the courtyard.  Around the castle there are many canons. Patrick thinks it would be fun. Callum fears they might be terribly loud!  

Today, Callum decided to visit Rochester. It looked quite gloomy in the misty air. Rochester is a Norman tower-keep of Kentish ragstone was built about 1127 by William of Corbeil, Archbishop of Canterbury, with the encouragement of Henry I. Consisting of three floors above a basement, it still stands 113 feet high.  (It really is very tall. Callum is standing very close to the camera.) Inside the keep there is a stairway that goes up and up and up. According to the plaque, in 1215, garrisoned by rebel barons, the castle endured an epic siege by King John. Having first undermined the outer wall, John used the fat of 40 pigs to fire a mine under the keep, bringing its southern corner crashing down. Even then the defenders held on, until they were eventually starved out after resisting for two months. Callum wonders if maybe they just really didn't want to climb all these stairs! It goes up so high, that Callum is getting a little nervous about looking down. Still Callum goes up and u

Callum took the Northlink ferry over to Aberdeenshire to visit Pitsligio Castle. ''I wonder where this passage might lead.'' Isn't it neat how doorways and passages keep for centuries longer than walls. Callum thinks there is probably some great lesson there, but he isn't sure.   A Callum sized window! Ooooh a shield!  Do you have a family shield? Callum wants to colour his own shield when he gets home. And a coat of arms! As Callum looked around the ruins of Pitsligio, he spotted a Stegasaurus! ''Hello!'' Callum asked the Stegasaurus if he would play a game.  I spy with my little eye something that is grey! ''Let's see what we can find under all these rocks,'' Sid the Stegasaurus asks Callum. ''Wow, these rocks are really heavy!'' Callum is amazed Sid's strength. Callum think this has been a great castle. It is hard to choose a favourite castle. Callum thinks any castle where you meet a new friend is the b

Before Callum and Patrick leave England and return to Scotland, they wanted to stop at another English castle. Brougham Castle was built in the early thirteenth century by Robert de Vieuxpont who was an ally of King John. Like the Roman Fort that had previously occupied the site, it was intended to secure a strategically important route through the Pennines. The castle later passed to the Clifford family who substantially upgraded the structure.   As they started to explore Broughham, they noticed a dinosaur they had never met before! Could this be a new friend?  "Hi!" Patrick and Callum wave. "Would you come out and play with us?" The new dinosaur introduced herself, "My name is Tedrina Elizabeth Catherine Brougham, you can call me Ted." "Wow, says Patrick, I am glad I don't have to learn how to spell that!" Ted took Callum and Patrick all around the castle. Broughham castle is really super old, Ted told Callum. Did you know that in the tent

Callum and Patrick made it to London!  They made there way through the gardens. What big thick walls! Callum and Patrick keep looking - where is this castle? James I started a plantation of mulberries for the rearing of silkworms where the Palace Gardens are now located. Patrick wonders if silkworms are tasty? Callum really wants to see the guards! Apparently, the palace was built for only £7000 in 1698.  Callum and Patrick hoped they might see the Queen sitting in her white stand. Unfortunately, she doesn't seem to have come out to enjoy the sunshine. Callum doesn't mind!  Callum is a real guard dinosaur! He will guard the castle with the Queen's guard. Buckenham Castle is huge! Callum and Patrick sure wish they could go inside. Unfortunately, so many things are closed because of rules or something.  Callum and Patrick hope to come back with crowns one day. Maybe then they will meet the Queen. You can take a virtual tour inside here . There is a brief facts video here. And

Callum and Patrick made a detour through Kent on their journey to London! To a place called Sissinghurst Castle! This Castle has a very strange roof! Sissinghurst is an ancient site. A stone manor house surrounded by a moat was built here in the Middle Ages. In the reign of Elizabeth I it was replaced by a splendid mansion built by the Baker family, who subsequently lost their fortune in the Civil War.  Sissinghurst gradually fell into a ruinous state with the condition of the buildings so derelict that parts had to be demolished. Such were the conditions when Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson bought the estate in 1930. They embarked upon a project to restore the house and to design the now famous gardens which are laid out as a series of themed ‘outdoor rooms’. The most distinctive architectural feature of Sissinghurst is the 4-storey red-brick Elizabethan tower with capped octagonal turrets where Sackville-West kept her study and wrote her books. Sissinghurst sounds a funny sor

(Callum would like first apologize for his late castle sharing. Unfortunately, even dinosaurs are not exempt from internet difficulties.) Callum and Patrick were delighted the the fog - which is called 'haar' in Scotland lifted enough that they could get a picture.   Callum thinks it would be a great idea to race Patrick up the hill! Who is faster T-Rex or Pterodactyl? Ready, steady.... go! It's a tie!  Callum and Patrick are both fast! All over the Castle, Callum spots these little holes. Might the previous castle dwellers have shot arrows out of the holes? Or might these holes have been to prevent the Castle flooding. Maybe, they just liked tiny windows? Or could they be mouse doors? In early July 1403 Owain Glyndŵr, together with 800 men, attacked Carreg Cennen, but, although inflicting severe damage to the walls, failed to take the castle.  Wow, that is a really strong wall! In 1461, during the Wars of the Roses, Carreg Cennen became a Lancastrian stronghold. A Yorkist