Tamworth
On one Sunday, September 2007, I went to a town called Tamworth, about 45 min. from Birmingham (time differs according to the trend you take, from 20 min. to an hour). Cheap day return ticket cost £5.60.
Tamworth is famous for this unusual shaped castle. The entrance fee is about £5 for an adult, but I did not pay any as it was Heritage Day.
The oldest part of the castle dates back to th 13th century, and later went through partial destructions, reconstructions, and restorations. Walking through the castle, we can observe from the Medieval to the 18th century part. It is arranged in a way that we can have a taste of castle life through the history.
This is a photo taken from the top of the castle. I hope you can appreciate that the round contour.
As often happens to British castles, this one also is haunted by a ghost. She is called Black Lady. The British people are very fond of ghost, so there is a young women dressed in black, with whom you can have yourself photographed (it was £1 or so if I remember well).
This is a relatively recent quarter of the castle.
In the mediaeval part of the castle, rooms are smaller and windows few and small, while in the more recent part, rooms are larger, with bigger windows, so brighter.
There is a part dedicated to exhibit historical objects that allow us to follow the history of Tamworth and the surrounding area. The castle really is didactically well arranged.
This photo was shot in the Dungeon, just after the entrance to the castle. The thing on the wall is a fake severed head, and the old torturer in centre is made of timber board.
You can see clearly everything as I took this photo with flash light, but in reality, there is no lumps in dungeon and all we can get is light coming in from the small entrance; you can hardly see what are on the wall when you entre. It is rather shocking to realise that there are severed heads (there is another one on the opposite wall) on display. Bad taste, but funny.
The castle is surrounded by a park with a river running through it. I could have enjoyed if I had brought some stale bread as there were lots of water birds.
This is a squirrel I met in the park. Usually squirrels escape very quickly when people come close, but this one did not move. I have never taken such a close picture of squirrels.
I did not find interesting eateries in Tamworth. There are a big church and a traditional market place building, but I did not find anything else interesting.
When I went to the station to catch a train home, the one I was expecting did not pass (or just did not stop), and I had to wait, with other people, for the next train for one hour. It is really difficult to travel in Britain by train on Sundays.
Go back to the Page Top
