We left Edinburgh Scotland on August 25th and traveled to Alnwick (rhymes with manic) England where we spent one night so we could visit the castle there. Arlie had asked to put this on the itinerary during our planning time back in the spring. Alnwick Castle is where some of the first two Harry Potter films were filmed.

Our journey required a train to Berwick-upon-Tweed and then a bus. {There are many fun and interesting town names in England, but this one may take the cake.} We missed the first bus and our back-up was delayed, so we ate a picnic down by the river and then waited at the stop. There was a friendly older couple at the bus stop that befriended us and helped us figure out the answer to a question we had about the route and delay. We enjoyed talking to them for the rest of the wait.

We got to our hotel in Alnwick in the early afternoon, but by the time we all got out the door and walked into town, we only had an hour before the castle closed. Thankfully, our tickets allowed us to go back the next day, so we didn’t feel rushed.

Before we got there, I had almost no expectations of Alnwick Castle. I was just going because Arlie wanted to. I enjoyed the Harry Potter books immensely, but we’d seen several other places connected to Harry Potter. Our time there ended up being a delightful surprise as we all loved it, despite being rained on quite a bit the second day, here’s why: 

• Alnwick is unusual among castles in that it is in great condition because it’s been owned and maintained by the same family for 700 years. Since most English castles are in ruins, its condition makes it a great movie set. 

• The castle is inhabited by the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland several months a year. We enjoyed seeing the state rooms and learning a bit about the family. 
• The Duke and Duchess and their team are obviously creative and resourceful people because there are plenty of fun and interesting activities one can experience while visiting.  We took the movie set tour, made a medieval soap, went through an animatronic dragon exhibit and everyone but John took a broomstick flying lesson which was cheesy and silly, but hey, why not?

• There is also a delicious cafe with several delicious GF choices.
• The weekend we were there, there was a medieval reenactment camp with people cooking and making crafts like the people would have back when the castle was built.

More positive aspects from our short time in Alnwick were the beautiful setting, our hotel and a key discovery.  First, the town of Alnwick is a beautiful little place to walk around.  Second, our hotel, the Hogshead Inn, was really nice, our family room (something we’ve never seen in the states) was spacious and the English breakfast was delicious and filling.  Last, but not least, we discovered that the gluten-free bread we had been buying the whole time we were in the UK for picnics, etc. has folic acid in it, something our family has to avoid because of our genetic makeup. While we knew we weren’t feeling our best, we did not know there was something so easy we could do about it.

Our time in Alnwick is a highlight from our time in England and we were all glad we went.  After lunch, it was time to head to York, our last stop in the United Kingdom before heading to mainland Europe.