#freetourguide

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Spectacular photos from @historicalbritain . . . Tantallon Castle, Scotland. . . - From top to bottom Scotland is filled with beautiful castles from once powerful now romantic medieval ruins through to stately homes still habitable today. One of Scotland's most beautiful medieval castles is definately Tantallon Castle. Set upon sea battered cliffs looking out to the remote Bass Rock, the now romantic ruins are surrounded on all sides by astonishing natural scenery. At its height, the castle was a massive fortress and though much has been lost over the years to war and the sea, a large part of its immense outer walls is still standing for you too climb up and explore. - The castle is currently owned by @historicscotland and entry will cost you around £6 with parking available just a short walk from the site. - Built in the mid to late 14th century, Tantallon was one of the last castles of it's era to be built in Scotland. Its formidable high and thick walls surrounded by deep thick cut ditches and earthworks all made this a main stronghold of it's owners the powerful Red Douglases. Twice they clashed with the Scottish crown and twice the castle would prove too much for both seiges of James IV(1491) and James V(1528). Tantallon could not resist Oliver Cromwells seige of 1651 however and the battered and destroyed castle woukd never recover. . . Fun Facts!💡 • Cromwells artillery took only 12 days to breach the castle's mighty walls. . • In the 14th Century the Douglas family split into the two factions known as the Black and Red Douglases. . . . . . . . . . #historicalbritain #freetourguide #historicscotland #tantallon #tantalloncastle #castles #scottishcoast #northberwick #visitscotland #lovescotland #instascotland #historicenvironmentscotland #bassrock #scottishborders #scotland #castle #europeanhistory #history #historicsite #historicalsite #castlesofscotland #scotland_greatshots #scotlandsbeauty #scotlandlover #historygeek #castlehunter #castlehunting https://www.instagram.com/p/CDwPYhiMT9B/?igshid=1ns30fnnq74yg

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Amazing Castle from @historicalbritain Dunstanburgh Castle, England. - Due to it's remote location amongst the rugged, sea battered ancient Northumberland coastline, Dunstanburgh Castle has got to be in the running for one of the most beautiful aswell as one of the most photogenic castles in all of Britain. A highly popular site for photographers and painters such as JMW Turner, Dunstanburgh certainly rarely fails to deliver beauty and inspiration as it juts out into the wild North Sea. Due to the castles remoteness however the nearest car park is infact a few miles away in the small town of Craster. Luckily for anyone willing to walk the distance to the castle though because the walk up the natural coastline is astonishingly captivating and well worth every bit of the potentially muddy journey. The castle remains still seen today were first built in 1313 on thr orders of 14th century Englands most powerful and wealthy men, Earl Thomas of Lancaster. During his second rebellion against King Edward II, Thomas would be captured following defeat at the battle of Boroughbridge in 1322 after failing to retreat north to Dunstanburgh. Humiliation followed for Thomas as he was executed by beheading within the walls of the massive Pontefract Castle in Yorkshire, a castle he actually owned. The castle would next see major action during the bloody Wars of the Roses as it was used as a Lancastrian stronghold in the North, sufferring from two separate Yorkist seiges in the process. . . Fun Facts!💡 • The interior of the castle covered an area so immense that much of the land inside would remain unused throughout it's life. . • In 1940, after the threat of invasion from Nazi Germany increased dramatically with the fall of Norway, the castle was integrated into Britain's North East coastal defences. . . . #historicalbritain #freetourguide #englishheritage #dunstanburghcastle #dunstanburgh #northumberland #europeancastle #castlesofinstagram #castlesofeurope #englishcastles #englishhistory #castles #castle #visitnorthumberland #northumberlandcoast #northumberland_pics #visitengland #historicengla https://www.instagram.com/p/B9g2NkFgIVC/?igshid=1bppilxcwb63z