Cheshire: the mighty Beeston Castle

I love castles!

Maybe it’s because these are something New Zealand doesn’t have a lot of; maybe it’s a lingering fascination from childhood stories of chivalrous knights and distressed damsels; or maybe it’s the intriguing historical tales associated with them. Whatever the reason, I will never turn down a day out exploring a castle and 13th-century Beeston Castle certainly did not disappoint.

Though now mostly in ruins, its stunning location atop a steep rocky crag sets Beeston apart from many similar fortifications. It boasts three levels for exploration: a Victorian wall and ticket office, totally in keeping with the style of the older ruins; an outer curtain wall and guardhouse half way up the hill; and the crowing glory, the inner curtain wall, gatehouse and ruins that sit on top of this mountainous outcrop.

Looking up to the outer gatehouse

The outer wall and gatehouse

The outer wall and  a taste of the views to come at the top

The kid in me led me to check out every narrow arrow slit and tiny window slot in the crumbling walls.

Looking up to the inner wall and gatehouse

The bridge to the inner gatehouse

Even the modern bridge that spans the vertigo-inducing rock-cut ditch to the inner gatehouse is a cracker. Its steep arching design requires a final effort of leg muscle before the reward of equally breath-taking vistas, and it’s the perfect prop for photogenic images.

Surprisingly, there's a 100-foot-deep well on the top of the hill. Apparently, it’s the legendary hiding place for King Richard II’s lost treasures.

For the most part, Cheshire is a county of plains and low rolling hills so, for me, one of the very best things about Beeston Castle was the spectacular panoramic views from the inner bailey. On a good day – and we had a beautifully clear day – you can catch a glimpse of Chester and Liverpool, 10 and 22 miles away respectively, and you can also see the Welsh Mountains, which are 30 miles distant in a north-westerly direction, and the Pennines, which are the same distance to the south west. If you dare, you can also check the view straight down – 500 feet straight down, that is!

When you’ve seen enough of the green and pleasant Cheshire countryside, you can head half way down the hill and, just outside the outer gatehouse, take a left to connect with the woodland trail that meanders around the entire site. Its leafy shade was welcome on a warm day and at a couple of spots you can catch glimpses of the castle towering high above, though mostly the tall trees obscure the crag.

The end of the woodland walk brings you to a surprise feature, a series of 18th-century man-made caves (inside picture here) that may once have housed stables but have now been walled up to protect visitors from themselves and to protect the colony of bats living within.

And, at the very end of your tour of mighty Beeston, don’t forget to check out the shop where English Heritage has a selection of gifts and souvenirs for sale, where there’s an exhibition highlighting aspects of the castle’s past, and a café for hot and cold snacks, particularly a well-deserved and very yummy locally made Cheshire ice cream!

Beeston Castle was superb on a bright summer’s day but I’d also like to see it on a dramatic, snow-touched winter’s day. Beeston, I’ll definitely be back!

A celebration of trees: August: pathways

‘The road goes ever on’ wrote that master storyteller, J. R. R. Tolkein, ‘And I must follow, if I can, / Pursuing it with eager feet.’

Tolkein might have been writing about me, particularly when that road, pathway or trail leads me through a stand, a grove, a forest of trees. I simply can’t resist. I find a deep sense of peace and harmony walking beneath the towering giants of an ancient woodland, a feeling of infinity and life everlasting, a sense of humility in the face of Nature’s miracles. I am also curious – hugely and overwhelmingly curious to discover where the path leads. It’s a child’s curiosity that has continued to beguile and enchant me throughout my life.

So, for this month’s celebration of trees I’m sharing some of the pathways that have enticed me to follow them through the trees in the four weeks that have passed since I came to live in the Welsh capital city of Cardiff. This is a city of wonderfully large public parks and bounteous green spaces so I’m sure I’ll find many more such paths to explore in the months to come.

If you’re a tree lover like me, then you might like to check out my previous months’ celebrations of trees by clicking on the following links: January (one particular favourite), February (about lime avenues), March (on the subject of forests), April (about the greening of the trees in the British springtime), May (on the New Zealand pohutukawa), June (about some of Auckland’s most notable trees), and July (honouring ten wondrous trees from my international travels).

Chicago: six horses and a cow

Imagine my surprise when, strolling down one of Chicago’s busiest inner-city avenues, I encountered a horse. And then another. And then not one but two horses standing close together. Not real horses, of course. These were life-size statues of horses, painted in bright and beautiful colours and designs.

These are the Horses of Honor, a commemoration of the more than 500 Chicago police officers who have lost their lives or been seriously injured in the line of duty since 1853. Local financial corporation Wintrust formed a partnership with the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation and together they commissioned a local manufacturer to make at least 75 of these horses, which were then designed and painted by local artists.

I only saw six of these charming horses but they have been installed in public places throughout the city. Various companies, organisations and individuals have sponsored the horses and that sponsorship money has gone to the Foundation to assist the families of Chicago’s fallen or catastrophically injured policemen and women.

Horses seem an appropriate animal to choose for such a scheme as they also pay tribute to the police officers of the Chicago Police Department Mounted Patrol Unit and their equine companions.

Horse at rear: Sponsor: AT&T. Artist: Jaime Foster. Honouring Patrolman Anthony N. Rizzato.
Horse closest to camera: Sponsors: Rock Band ‘Chicago’ and their manager Peter Schivarelli. Artist: Peter Bucks. Honouring P.O. Thomas E. Wortham IV.

Sponsor: Assurance Agency Ltd. Artist: Brittney Leeanne Williams. Honouring: Patrolman Edward L. Barron.

Sponsor: Zeller Realty Group. Artist: After School Matters. Honouring Sergeant Charles E. Eichhorst.

Sponsors: Roenigk Family Foundation, Guesthouse Hotel, and Inside Publications. Artist: Sheila Swann. Honouring P.O. Michael R. Bailey.

Sponsor: United Service Companies. Artist: Lori Murphy. Honouring Patrolman Terrence E. Loftus.

As well as my close encounters with these delightful horses, I also discovered a cow in downtown Chicago. That wasn’t what I’d call a close encounter as the cow was perhaps forty feet above me, fastened above the entrance to the rather chic Talbott Hotel.  

This was one of the cows from that now-famous herd, ‘Cows on Parade’, which went on to become an international phenomenon after first inhabiting the streets of Chicago back in the summer of 1999. Brainchild of Swiss artist Walter Knapp, who was influenced by a pride of lions on display in Zurich in 1986, ‘Cows on Parade’ debuted in Switzerland in 1998 and went on to be displayed in over fifty countries worldwide.

The concept has since taken off around the world and various countries have now had local artists, designers, celebrities paint, decorate, design cows, horses, sheep (and even eggs – remember the two blogs I wrote about New Zealand’s 2014 Whittaker’s Big Egg Hunt here and here). 

Either the objects are sponsored or, at the end of their exhibitions, are auctioned off to raise money for a nominated local charity. Apparently, during its 12-year run ‘Cows on Parade’ raised more than US$20 million for charities around the world, so not only are these painted creatures a fabulous way for cities to attract tourists and for artists to showcase their talents but they are also creating positive change around the world through their enormous fundraising achievements. A perfect combination!