Exploring Castles Around Cumbria

It’s been more than a hot minute since we last met, dear blog, but I’m back to share my love for history and, of course, good food! 

They say ‘once a historian, always a historian.’ Well, technically, when I say ‘they’ I mean me, but that’s besides the point. 

As I was saying, the historian is strong in this one, and I have recently started looking up the histories of the places that I am about to visit and then recalling these en route….and now for your reading pleasure….also here! 

For this Cumbrian trip, one name in particular jumped out at me and I was keen to find out more… well, that and the many stone circles in the area, but more on that later.

Lady Ann Clifford was a Tudor philanthropist, early feminist and total legend who, despite what the title of this blog may suggest, was born in Skipton. In 1590, in case you wanted to know.

English Heritage describe her as the last member of one of England’s great medieval dynasties.

Her life was sadly struck by tragedy early on, though, as both her brothers died young, making her the only surviving child, and then, her dad died too when she was only 15! 

Yet as she was a woman, *insert sarcastic eye roll* Anne did not automatically inherit the family estate, which by the way was really quite big. No, instead, it all went to her uncle, just because he was a man. * Boo hiss boo*

Thankfully, Ann did not give up without a fight, and with the support of her mother, Margaret, she made it her mission to regain her rightful inheritance…..It only took 40 years!!!

By this time, Lady Ann Clifford had outlived two husbands and many, if not all, of the estates were falling to bits and were in ruins. It was also 1643 at the time, so there was that little thing called the English Civil War to contend with. 

Unperturbed, there was no stopping Ann, who had a new mission in life. After the war, aged 60, she spent the next 26 years of her life restoring the family castles, including many that I will mention later, as well as restoring churches and building almshouses.

Castlerigg Stone Circle

Before, dear reader, we set off on our Lady Anne Clifford travels, I’m taking it right back to Neolithic times with a stop off at Castlerigg Stone Circle.

It is, in fact, reputed to be one of the oldest of the stone circles and predates Stone Henge by more than five hundred years. 

As a second-generation hippie ( sort of), I have often felt drawn to visiting stone circles, but that was before watching Outlander….now it’s a must-go destination….and Castlerigg did not disappoint.

The large stone circle with dramatic views over some of the Lake District's highest peaks includes 38 stones and a characteristic rectangular mini henge within the circle.

Mayburgh Henge

Staying on the Neolithic theme, we ventured next to Mayburgh Henge and King Arthur’s Round Table. 

I was rather underwhelmed by the latter of these. 

Although the Arthurian legend is in fact a legend and probably didn’t really happen at all, I was looking forward to seeing at least something at this site, but instead it was just literally a circular ditch and a mound.

It also didn’t actually have anything to do with Arthur, Merlin and the knights at all, although you may be led to believe that this was their jousting grounds. 

Instead, excavations from 1937 show that it has Neolithic origins and was thought to be a burial ground and possibly a trading place too.

Just across the road ( and a bit way down), we continued on our stone circle theme, and  Mayburgh Henge was not to be missed. Only one standing stone remains, but it's a majestic one, sadly though it did not take me to Jamie Fraser.

Shout out to Mother Nature for the ombre effect of all the colours in the standing stone.

Penrith Castle

On a very Outlander: Blood of My Blood or Game Of Thrones vein, there were two big rival families in Medieval Cumberland and Westmorland. One was the Cliffords and the other, the Nevilles. 

Penrith Castle (originally Penrith Manor) was owned by the Nevilles and was built as a place of diplomacy, trade, and quite possibly to ruffle a few of the Clifford’s feathers, who owned land not too far away. 

As I walked around the now ruinous castle, I could really feel the opulence and grandeur of this once magnificent building. 

One of its most notorious inhabitants was Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who went on to become Richard III. He is believed to have added many striking features to the castle during his time, but only lived there for periods up to 1483, so may not have stayed at Penrith whilst he was King.

St. Andrews Church 

Whilst in Penrith, another great stop for history nerds like myself is the church of St. Andrews. Although a lot of it was remodelled during the Georgian period, there has been a church on the site since about 1133, and it still retains its medieval tower, which is believed to date back to the 13th or 14th century.

I also loved seeing the stained glass window depicting members of the Neville family.

Dalemain Historic Mansion

The annual world marmalade awards at Dalemain was reason enough for me to pay this historic manor a visit, but sadly, the awards are in April, and I visited in November. 

To add to this,  the house was also now closed for the winter, as I would have loved to have seen Lady Anne Clifford’s final diary. (Oh well, all the more reason to go back.)

The Dalemain Mansion was bought by one of Lady Anne's secretaries, Edward Hasell, who is believed to have helped Anne keep her diary later in life.

However, fortunately for me, the tea room was open, which not only meant that I got to spend the afternoon in the historic medieval hall but try the marmalade too!!

The Dalemain Marmalade Awards attract over 300 marmalade makers from across the world  (Paddington would be in his element), all aiming for the coveted prize of having their marmalade on sale at Fortnum and Mason.

For 2025, the double gold award winner, and the first overseas winner for 20 years, was Hitomi Wakamura of Japan. The marmalade in question was yuzu and pear, so naturally, it had to be tried. 

The taste was fresh and light, almost summery in flavour, with the sweetness of the pear beautifully paired with the tangy yet floral notes of the yuzu.

Brougham Hall

Whilst Lady Anne Clifford spent most of her days at Brougham Castle (including her final ones), this was alas also closed, so I opted to visit Brougham (pronounced broom) Hall instead and what a cool place it is. 

Brougham Castle

The lovely lady at Saramics Studio gave me a lowdown on the story behind the hall and the artist collective that you can find there today. Brougham Hall is now owned collectively by the artists who work there, including a gin distillery, ceramic studios and even a forge.  

Whilst the hall has a rich tapestry of history, having been fortified and settled for centuries, its origins are unsure, but we can be sure that one of the heroines of this tale was Lady Anne Clifford! In 1651, she bought the hall for £1,500 and then, a few years later, also bought a hospital for the staff of both the hall and Brougham Castle.

The Gates at Brougham Hall

Greystoke Castle

If there are any themes to this blog (and there are a few), then it’s generous philanthropists; this time, it’s the Liverpudlian bar and restaurant owner Tom Nash. 

Tom is painstakingly and lovingly restoring this historic gem, and I was lucky enough to get a tour of Greystoke Castle, including not only the opulently restored rooms but also a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the work yet to be done. We even checked out the roof terrace!

One of my favourite aspects of the tour was the dungeon bar, which brought together the historic and the new with aged old barrels as tables and a fully stocked bar.

One of the most renowned occupants of Greystoke has to be Catherine Howard, 5th wife of Henry VIII and my cousin….13 times removed.

In fact, this ancestral family seat has been owned by the Howard family since 1560....until Cromwell had something to say about it.

Another famous person who stayed at Greystoke was the author Edgar Rice Burroughs. Although, like me, you may not recognise the name straight away, you will know his work as he is the guy who wrote Tarzan. 

The Edgar Rice Burroughs' Bedroom

In fact, Edgar Rice Burroughs actually based the home of Tarzan’s parents on Greystoke.

Appleby and St. Lawrence's Church

Whilst Lady Anne managed to restore 14 different castles in her lifetime, Appleby was one where she is said to have spent most of her time.

However, it is now a hotel, so after a quick peek, it was off to the church with a stop off at St Anne’s Hospital. 

This almshouse (not a hospital at all) was built as a refuge and to help the poor widows of the village.

Lady Anne Clifford and her mother are both buried at St. Lawrence's church, so it felt only fitting that the journey ends at her final resting place...or was it the end? 

Lady Ann Clifford's memorial. Work started on this whilst she was still alive so that Lady Ann could make sure that it was perfect.

Pendragon Castle 

Ok, so technically this is just on the Cumbrian/Yorkshire border, but our final stop, Pendragon Castle, was not to be missed for two main reasons. 

Firstly, according to Arthurian legend, the castle was built by Uther Pendragon, and secondly, it is, of course, Lady Anne Clifford. 

She fully restored the castle after it was raided by the Scottish and added many features, including a bakery and stables. Sadly, none of these remain as Pendragon Castle is now just a ruin, but I’m sure the local sheep love having it as a place to graze and explore.

Francisco and Guido

On the top of the hill in the small village of Talla, Tuscany there is an old monastery complete with lots and lots of Madonna statues (as in Mary not the pop singer) and friezes. Yet today, the house of religious importance has been renovated into a large seven bedroom villa complete with swimming pool. 

The first few days of our trip were spent lounging by the pool and forgetting about the stresses of ‘the real world.’ In my case this was also where I finished the first book of the trip. 

Francis De Assisi came from a wealthy family of La Verna yet he shunned all of his worldly possessions in favour of living a life of faith. Sleeping in a cave, with sack cloth on his back Francis De Assisi would spend his days preaching. Notably the patron saint of merchants, animals and the environment arranged the first live Christmas nativity scene in 1223 and a year later, during a state of religious ecstasy, received the stigmata from an apparition of spheric angels.  (The stigmata are the wounds that Jesus bore during the crucifixion.) 

In case you wanted to know, Francis De Assisi's saint day is on the 4th October. 

The Basilica of Francis De Assisi (also known as Francessco) was built in commemoration of the saint and it was a trip to this monastery that sparked a debate about the saint’s life as well as religion in general. 

Another formidable character of our trip was Guido of Guidi the proprietor of Poppi Castle during the 13th century. Throughout history, as was the case in a number of European countries, (i’m looking at you Germany) Italy was divided into various ‘contandi (districts) and the Guidi family was in charge of Tuscany……until those of Florence had something to say about it. - That’s the Medici’s right? although I think they might have come later. 

The stronghold, complete with a moat and bellower has seen many owners in its time and with each new age a new extension or refurbishment arrived with it. Therefore the castle we see today varies hugely from the castle Guido if Guidi knew in the 1200s. 

The town of Poppi was also a spot of intense; especially as they had some quite good ice cream and I particularly enjoyed the fact the streets to and from the town were lined with…yes you guessed it….poppies!! 

The highlight of our trip, at least for me, was a trip to a small family run bed and breakfast in the next village where we were shown how to make proper egg pasta. Pasta can be made with our without egg (for example spaghetti does not contain egg)  however I find that the egg in the pasta gives it much richer flavour and gives it a more silky texture. 

Our pasta masterclass was followed by a five (yes five) course meal including antipasti, prima (the freshly made pasta) , Secondi (meat, in our case wild boar or chinghale) and finally dessert of a mascarpone cream. 

Feeling suitably stuffed I was ready to go home yet our day was not over as we were now the tables turned and it was our turn to make pasta….however there was only room for one person so sat back and watched. dammit

James, proved to be quite the dab hand at pasta making and was even given a 10 out of 10 for his pasta which was evenly rolled to perfection. Alas, when cooked the next day, the pasta was underdone and therefore did not reflect the effort that had gone into it. 

When I was told that I would be visiting Lake Trassemano I imagine a cute little beach surrounded by cafes and other such tourist traps with changing huts and outdoor showers. A random patch of grass in the middle of a car park was not however on my wish list. 

Not to be perturbed however I decided to don my swimming costume and have a dip in the lake.  Not two minutes into our swim though and at least fifty dogs started to bark manically. It appeared that our spot was also home to the local dog house and apparently it was feeding time. 

I'm going on an adventure part 2

We bid farewell to Hever castle and continued our journey towards Edenbridge and specifically Ashdown Forest, or as it is more widely known - 'The Hundred Acre Wood.'
Unfortunatelyfor us the day that we visited Pooh Corner was a very 'blustery day' and as a result of the great british weather also very muddy so suffice it to say that my Ugg boots were ruined.

However I did get a game of pooh sticks at Pooh bridge where I was sorely beaten three games in a row!

We drove through Battle - aptly named as it was the site of the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Alas the Battle Abbey was shut - bother so we did not linger.

The evening was spent at the historical city of Rye and specifically The George at Rye. It just so happened to be be Rye Scallop Week whilst we were there so you can imagine what was on the menu that night. 

Onto Bodiam now, the medieval castle built by the knight Edward Dalyngrigge and here we heard a talk about the four humours of the body which in those days were believed to be the key to a healthy lifestyle. 

Alas the final stop on our epic journey through the centuries -both fact and fiction- was Leeds Castle. The impressive castle built mainly on two islands is, like Hever, representative of many eras throughout history. Leeds Castle was principially known as the 'Queen's castle' as it was often passed onto the wives and Queens of medieval kings.

Leeds was the calling point for Henry VIII, Catherine of Aragon and a vast entourage of courtiers on the way to The Field Of The Cloth Of Gold in the 1520s as well as going on to be owned by the Culpepper and later Fairfax families. 

Again much like Hever, Leeds castle was also bought and restored by a wealthy American; Lady Olive Baillie.