Synopsis: A trip for Mum, Helen and myself to one of the best old ruined castles in Devon. It may be reputed to be haunted, but the ghosts were obviously taking a day off on our visit!
Berry Pomeroy Castle
I’d given Helen my copy of I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith to read and I thought that it would add atmosphere to the reading of this book to actually visit a ruined castle. There are stories of two ghosts that supposedly haunt the castle and I knew that Helen, with her taste for the dramatic, would love that also. Mum and I had actually visited the castle in May of this year, but we were both more than happy to revisit it.
Berry Pomeroy Castle - Helen, wearing audio guide supplied by EH
One of the things I particularly like about visiting Berry Pomeroy Castle (EH) is the audio guides that are provided. These bring the story of the castle to life and make the visit all the more enjoyable. With our audio guides secured to our necks we entered the castle through the gatehouse.
The castle was bought by by Edward Seymour from the Pomeroys in 1547. These are the same Seymours that had provided Henry VIII with his third wife, Jane Seymour. A major rebuilding programme was undertaken by the Seymours in an effort to change the dwelling from a castle to a large mansion, intended to be a match for Longleat and Audley End. Only the castle gatehouse, part of the curtain wall and Margaret’s Tower remain of the original medieval castle. The rebuilding programme was never completed because of the expense Seymour incurred in respect of the Royalist cause, and by 1700 the house was a ruin.
Berry Pomeroy Castle
We had a picnic lunch in the castle itself, finding a spot for ourselves against one of the wall. Helen managed to sneak into the gift shop unaware to me and buy me a fridge magnet, which was a nice surprise. She seems determined that I maintain the tradition. Helen and I then left Mum sat outside the castle whilst we went off to explore the lake below the castle and take in the view looking up the the ruins set high on the hill top.
Broadsands - Mum and Helen - making tea on the beach!
After our visit to Berry Pomeroy we set off for Broadsands. I had the idea that we could brew up a cup of tea on the beach as it was such a lovely day. We were soon parked up and I quickly had the kettle on. Helen had made a great job of repairing my stove recently, fitting a new ‘homemade’ seal where the old one had split. Excellent work Helen! Forever resourceful when it comes to saving money.
I suggested we then find somewhere to buy our supper. I had the idea that Teignmouth would be a nice place for fish and chips on the sea front. We sat looking out at Teignmouth pier each of us with enormous proportions of fish and chips, and delicious it was too. What a great way to end a really nice day out.
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