Castle by the Sea

 

Dunstanburgh Castle, Northumberland

"Instead of building castles against your enemies, build bridges for them to come to you!"- Mehmet Murat Ildan

"Huge knots of sea-weed hung upon the jagged and pointed stones, trembling in every breath of wind; and the green ivy clung mournfully round the dark and ruined battlements. Behind it rose the ancient castle, its towers roofless, and its massive walls crumbling away, but telling us proudly of its own might and strength, as when, seven hundred years ago, it rang with the clash of arms, or resounded with the noise of feasting and revelry." - Charles Dickens (The Pickwick Papers)
 

"All British castles and old country homes are supposed to be haunted. It's in the lease." -Bob Hope

Click here to listen to folk singer Alice Jones, from Ripponden, singing her arrangement of a traditional song about a castle by the sea.  

Writing prompts:

• Dunstanburgh is one of English Heritage's top ten English castles. Do you have a favourite? If so, write about it for a few minutes.
• Look at the top quote again. Who will come to you over the bridge that you build? 
• You are a castle. Describe yourself, and write about what it is you are trying to protect from enemies and invaders. 
• Think about what is happening in your life and in the world right now. Write about the possibility of building bridges, not walls.