A wander to the castle

Another muggy, boring day - so I thought I'd use my whole lunch hour again. To the castle!

Up Castle Gate, a great street with a mixture of old and new buildings.

Great Georgian house - the windows even have wooden shutters behind them.

This is Stanford House, and was built around 1775...

...with a fantastic decoration over the door - a skull!

This is the Royal Children pub, as re-built in the 1920s.

Old guides to Nottingham mention that there were 3 amazing-looking buildings next... but there is dual-carriageway now. Philistines.

And so, to Newdigate House, is it as old as the castle (1675) and very handsome indeed.

It wouldn't be one of my wanders without a bit of Watson-Fothergill.

The entrance to the castle.

And we're in. Behind those trees is the castle itself - it is a bit of a bugger to photograph.

The gatehouse - from inside. Entrance is free to Nottingham residents.

The castle grounds are really quite green, with a small wood to the left.

A bandstand.

A view. You can see the lovely incinerator in the distance.

The Trip To Jerusalem nestles against the castle. It claims to have been there for about 800 years... but the building itself is nearer to 300 years old.

Brewhouse Museum.

Severn's House, moved here from Weekday Cross in 1970. It dates from the 1430s.

War memorial.

Tourists at play near the statue of Robin Hood.

And back into the castle grounds.

The exit.

Up Standard Hill...

There are a couple of plaques here:

"On a mound - about 80 yards to the rear of this tablet, Charles I raised his standard. August 25th 1642."

"Lord Byron the poet lived in this house in the years 1798 and 1799"
(I always suspected that he spent one Christmas here).

That is all. I hope you enjoyed it.