Alnwick Castle dates all the way back to the Norman period of history in England. Since 1309, the Percy family has owned and lived in the castle. The Duke of Northumberland and his family are the current residents making it the second largest inhabited castle in the UK. (Windsor is Number 1)
Here is a brief history of the castle as much more can be found online so what follows is the swift version. Alnwick Castle was first erected in 1086 to guard the river Aln by Baron Ivo de Vesci. It was attacked and captured by King David of Scotland in 1136, it was besieged again in 1172 and 1174 by King William of Scotland and King William was captured outside the walls during the Battle of Alnwick in 1174. In 1212 following several barons revolting the infamous King John ordered the castle demolished but the order was never carried out. In 1309 the castle was bought by the Percy family from Bishop Bek of Durham. Since then, the castle has been owned by the Percy family who have had a roller coaster ride through the years plotting against Kings, building and expanding the castle, fighting the Scots and the English, defending the north from both the north and the south and even losing a head or two. In the English civil war, the castle was used as a prison camp by Cromwell. During WW1 it was used as a training camp and billet for the Northumberland fusiliers and in WW2 girls were evacuated from Newcastle to the castle and schooled there and later it became a teaching college.
Currently the castle is open to the public during the summer months and has many exhibitions within its walls, there is also to the north of the castle is a relatively small park straddling the river Aln which was landscaped by Capability Brown in the 18th century; it is known locally as the Pastures. Nearby is the much larger Hulne Park which contains the remains of a priory.
Adjacent to the castle is a formal garden set around a cascading fountain, Alnwick Gardens. It cost £42 million in 2004 a large 6,000-square-foot ‘treehouse' complex, including a café, was opened. It is deemed one of the largest treehouses in the world. In February 2005, a poison garden, growing plants such as cannabis and opium poppy, was added. May 2006 saw the opening of a pavilion and visitor centre which can hold up to 1,000 people.
So, Alnwick Castle has served as a military outpost, a teaching college, a refuge for evacuees, and has been a star in many a movie or TV series. Alnwick Castle most recently featured in Transformers: The Last Knight, and as the magnificent Brancaster Castle in Downton Abbey's 2015 and 2016 Christmas specials. The castle has also made an appearance in Elizabeth, Blackadder, Dungeons and Dragons, A Knight of Camelot, Ivanhoe, Mary Queen of Scots, Becket and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves but most of all for our purposes and for Geocaching Lore and one which all Cachers must know is that the castle starred in Harry Potter movies as Hogwarts! But all those muggles won’t know that will they?
This is a virtual cache.
You MUST follow the instructions to claim a find.
Get your wand ready or rev up that broomstick!
Post a picture of you zapping the castle or riding your broomstick from the given coordinates with the castle in the background.
(Example pictures below to give you an idea, but ou can be as creative as you like. Props, costumes stand in muggles. Have some fun!)
If you're shy and/or feeling muggly use your wand or GPS to zap the castle and take a photo of that.
You must post the photo in your log when you log your find. Any logs without a photo will be deleted.
The Department of Magical Law Enforcement have decreed it so. You have been warned.
The Castle is well worth a visit or the gardens and you can spend many a day there, we have many times over the years.
Have fun and thanks for visiting.
Virtual Rewards 4.0 - 2024-2025
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between January 17, 2024 and January 17, 2025. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 4.0 on the Geocaching Blog.