Today's Castle: Alnwick, Northumberland

Why not, since I just took some of my characters there in my book? Alnwick was begun not long after the Norman Conquest and assumed roughly its current form in the 12th century. It has belonged to the Percy family for 700 years, and when they became Dukes of Northumberland they kept it as their main seat.

This isometric view from 1866, shows the basic structure, with an outer court and an inner cluster of buildings rather than a simple keep. A lot of the stuff in front is later, of course, more recent Dukes not wanting to live in the style of their 14th-century ancestors.

The castle guards the crossing of the River Aln on the main road from Berwick to Newcastle, one of the chief routes from England to Scotland. Hence it was much involved in centuries of border warfare.

Below, painting of the castle by J.M.W. Turner.