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Dunstanburgh Castle

With RoadTour you can hear about Dunstanburgh Castle and over 1500 other UK Heritage sites via your SatNav or Mobile as you drive! Pub & Restaurant guides also available. Buy RoadTour now online for your vacation to the UK...

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“There is only one way to reach the dramatic ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle – by foot. Dominating a lonely stretch of Northumberland's coastline, it used to be one of the largest and grandest castles in northern England. Turner painted Dunstanburgh many times, usually rising at dawn to do so. Earl Thomas of Lancaster, the cousin of Edward II, began work on the massive fortress in 1313, building it on a site which is thought to have been occupied in pre-historic times. The castle had a very high standard of masonry, comfort and design; it was probably intended to house Earl Thomas and all his followers. By the time he was executed eleven years later, the castle was nearly finished. It fell to John of Gaunt – then Duke of Lancaster and extremely wealthy– to take on the task of improving the castle. He was most influential during the politics of the time and his heirs – better known as the Lancasters- included King Henry IV, V and VI. It was the War of the Roses, between the House of Lancaster and the House of York which spelt the end of Dunstanburgh Castle since it never recovered from the damage inflicted upon it and ultimately fell into ruin. It was reported in 1538 to be a ‘very ruinous house and in great decay’ and later in 1550 to be in ‘wonderful great decay’ Despite its downwards slide over the last 500 years, we can still see envisage from the ruins what a magnificent and imposing building the castle must have been as it dominated the headland. ”

Address:

Craster, Alnwick, Northumberland
NE66 3ET
Visit Website

Opening Hours:

1 Apr-30 Sep: daily 10-6pm
1-30 Oct: daily 10-4pm
2 Nov-31 Mar: Thu-Mon: 10-4pm

Prices:

Adult: £2.90
Child: £1.50
Concession: £2.20

Facilties:

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“Brilliant information, have used several of the pubs and visited many of the properties. Some that I didn’t know were so close to home. Keep up the good work.”
Steve, UK

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Graham, London

“The content is good and the level of detail about right, enough to pique your interest but not so much that you feel you're attending a lecture.”
Sam, Manchester

“I've used the programme a few times now on my travels and it does add a good deal of value to a journey so I'm very happy with my purchase.”
John, UK

“The Audio commentary on the Garmin was well narrated and definitely had the feel of the audio guides you get when you are walking around the landmarks themselves”.
Linda, New Jersey

“Finding atmospheric pubs with good food is always a challenge when you don't know the area and can be stressful when you're hungry and tired!!”
David, Essex

“Road Tour has found us some great pubs which have made our journeys all the more enjoyable. Every place it's suggested has been a winner.”
Nikki, Cambridgeshire'

“The heritage commentary is really informative and entertaining – it’s great to discover the background to the brown tourist signs we normally whizz by on the motorway.”
Michael, Reading

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Guy, London

“It doesn't intrude on the journey it complements it with just enough information if you are not stopping at the attraction.”
Robin, Scotland