Highclere and Donnington Castle

It was a very sunny day and we had decided to go to Highclere Castle near Newbury. After a quick shop in Boots for our daily toiletries and an hour lunch at Pizza Hut, we headed for Newbury. It wasn't that far from Basingstoke. About 40 mins drive.



Highclere castle is an astounding castle with its exterior well preserved and it is surrounded with massive green fields. These green fields are mostly fenced, with hundreds of sheeps and lambs grazing about within. You could see some grazing in the sun and some happily sit under the trees' shades. We were unfortunate for the castle was closed to public (today). Perhaps for restoration work. But our visit were not rendered for the castle grounds were opened to public. We saw a few families cycling about the castle grounds and some sat, with cycle helmets still attached on their heads, sitting under the shade. It was a serene view, indeed. With no chance of entering the castle itself, we had no idea what history that lies behind its closed doors.

As I am allergic to pollen, we didn't decide to sit and laze on the castle grounds like the others but decided to move on ahead.



Apparently the county of West Berkshire is filled with historical places to visit and so as we drove on towards the centre of Newbury, we stumbled upon Donnington Castle.


Studs by the castle

This castle is much older than Highclere. It was destroyed during the Civil War in the 14th century. What is left is only the main entrance and the castle base. Unlike Highclere which is located on a flat ground, Donnington Castle is based on a higher ground. When you are at the top, you could almost see the rest of Newbury.

It was really enjoyable. Our next trip would be to Avesbury Circle (tomorrow?), a few miles away from Newbury. Have you heard of Stonehenge? Well, Avesbury Circle is something like Stonehenge but the circle is made of timber instead of stone. If I am not mistaken the timbers used to construct the circle were also 'hinged' to one another, similar to the stones that made Stonehenge.


LO in the sea of flowers.

One our way home we found this massive land with 'unidentified' yellow flowers planted. The stems are as high as my height. LO is actually on DH's shoulders and as you can see, she is just above the tip of the flowers. It was a quick visit for minutes later I started to sneeze and had a headache. We reached home at about 7 pm, it was still bright as day. A good thing during Spring/Summer, you have longer days for your outing.


It's a long way back home.