Or at least those with remains. I would likely look a bit silly standing in a field saying “there’s a castle here!” and it would make a boring post. That said you’d think standing in a car park saying there was a king underneath would be silly, and look what happened.

I’ve realised that it might have been a good thing to note down the date I first decided to make my castle life goal, and had a moment of disappointment, but at least I’ve the dates of each visit thanks to the default setting of my camera to add meta data.

Since I’m rather behind in terms of posting, in regards to actual visits, I thought it might be interesting, and would make up for the lack of an oath ceremony, to list the places I’ve been to so far. It’s a rather random mix and if I had the money I’d go about it linearly, but I am not a blogging superstar with passive income to spend. I should probably preface this list with ‘Elizabeth Chadwick fest’ as her work (medieval historical fiction) has had an influence on the order of my trips.

So far I have been to and photographed the following:

Carisbrooke – Where Charles I was imprisoned by the Roundheads.

Goodrich – Owned by the de Clare family and later, by marriage, William Marshall. Chadwick number one, a happy accident as I wasn’t aware of the connection until I got there.

Hever – The home of the Boleyn family; where Anne Boleyn lived as a child and where she returned to to keep Henry at arm’s length.

Highclere – Downton Abbey. Enough said, really.

Highcliffe – Currently being renovated, a castle that burned down and was, in it’s day, a beautiful mansion.

Ludlow – The Mortimer base, and Catherine of Aragon’s residence in the happier days of her first marriage. Chadwick number two, it looks rather different to what she described in her book…

Porchester – A base of Richard II’s, a rather small castle meeting the waterfront.

Southampton – A fort, a marketplace, and now the wrapper of the homes at the edge of Southampton.

Whittington – Battled over for years and now very much in ruins, the gatehouse itself being new in comparison to the rest of it. Chadwick number three, an important Welsh Marches castle.

Wolvesey – A sumptuous bishop’s palace, or at least it was (I expect the current bishop is rather happy for his mansion next door).

So that’s it really, an update and an excuse to post pictures of amazing scenes. I’ve tended to view a few buildings during one trip, hence the close proximity of some places. I’ve also sort of visited Shrewsbury and Corfe, but not been in them at all so I’m not counting them here. I’ve been to Winchester, too, which is just as well because it would’ve been silly to miss it when going to the city for Wolvesey. I’m undecided about Winchester Castle because you can only enter the one hall, the room housing a replica of the legendary round table. (A replica of a legend… makes you wonder whether the replica ought not be called the true table.)

Have you been to any of the castles I’ve listed here? Any recommendations for where to go next?

I’m at a family event today, which may be interesting given our current weather, even if the last couple have days have been like that in the photograph. No doubt the people who chose this date had in mind lovely blossoms and a chilly but sunny occasion. For their sakes I’m crossing my fingers that the necessary attire won’t leave everyone stamping their feet. It’s not really the place for it.

In other news I’m hoping to attend the London Book Fair next week. I gave it a miss last time because the time previous to that wasn’t a particularly good experience. In 2011 adding “blogger” to your signup form left you with a name badge with “visitor” on it, and few are interested in visitors. This year, however, you can sign up as a blogger properly.

Despite my lack of interest in the X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent, Anything Created By Simon Cowell, I’m finding myself once again gripped by The Voice. In truth my interest will wane once the blind auditions are over, because what keeps me watching this first stage is the obvious musical abilities that are desired by the judges, and the way looks aren’t important. No one is mocked in these auditions, and in this, the second series, it’s nice to see that the judges, now with last year’s experience, aren’t choosing people after only a few notes. There’s the sense that there will be a greater variety in the voices chosen this time, and less impulsiveness. As a musician I probably ought not to like it, and yet it’s that very aspect of me that makes me love it.

Giveaway Winners

I assigned a number to everyone who entered last week’s giveaway in order of when you commented. If you want you can watch this video to see who won, or the results are just below. First number was for the signed copy, the second for the ebook. Hopefully this will work. I made a test video earlier and it seemed to.

The winner of the signed copy is Helen. The winner of the ebook is Kelly. I’ll email you both within the next few days for your details.

Do you like posts about daily life? I’m generally loathed to write some of my own because it feels rather self-indulgent. I think we can see why I failed at personal blogging. Nevertheless, and especially because of what I wrote last Friday, I thought I’d use today’s slot to give you a sort of update.

January started off really well with lots of motivation, and, in my case, half a website planned. Then life took a turn and there was a death in the family. It came as a shock and all planning went out of the window. The final decision of a final decision my mother made was reverted to a wondering and, once things were stable, resulted in us practically pushing her into that decision she’d spent so long considering.

My university application isn’t going well. I mentioned on Twitter sometime that my first choice was out, and in the last week I’ve been rejected by my second choice, too. However I am not particularly upset by this. Of course it’s never nice to be told you’re not good enough, but after having spent the last two years studying to get into university I’ve recently had a change of heart. Whilst I still would like to go, the plan B I’ve been working on in case of rejection has ironically become rather alluring; a big part of me is rather blasé about the university rejections because going to university would put an end to this plan B.

The smallest things in life, or in this case major happenings, can completely change who you are and what you thought you wanted to do, to the point that a rejection from Oxford (because I remember telling you all that’s why I had been studying so hard) becomes, in fact, a suggestion that your other plan is far better.

So at present I’m planning a new course of study, learning new computer-based things (I’ve always been a web person), planning a possibly exciting new course of life, and absolutely loving blogging. The biggest thing these last several months have taught me is how much I enjoy blogging, writing, and of course reading.

If this post sounds incredibly positive, don’t let it fool you. The tragedy mentioned has impacted everyone here a lot. But I’ve come to realise that every little good thing should be appreciated and that it’s important to be happy in what you have even if what you haven’t got consists of quite a bit and is constantly in mind.

Most importantly it has shown the value of support and how important being supportive and listening to others is. If it’s acceptable to end a post on life with a plea, this is it: be as supportive as you can to those who need your help, even if it’s incredibly difficult.

On our first full day in London we took the Hilton ferry across to Canary Wharf. Neither of us was adamant about visiting the wharf, but it did seem silly to not do so when we had views of the place; so across the river we went.

Canary Wharf isn’t quite as spectacular as we’d thought it might be, there are a few skyscrapers that make you wonder if you’ve left England behind, but being the financial district, rotten weather or not it’s small and relatively dull. There was a great deal of cigarette smoke as all the office workers come out at lunchtime, and because the place is almost solely offices I would recommend that anyone who doesn’t like smoke or who has asthma think twice before going because there isn’t anywhere to go for fresh air.

There are shops inside a centre, some of which runs underground. Basic chain stores are there as well as shops such as Tiffany’s. You can board the Docklands Light Railway, which is basically an overground Tube train. It does take you on a rail above the street, however, so the daytime is the best time to use it if you’re seeking views.

This was the day I attended the Folio Society event. I’ve been asked for details but don’t want to write much so here goes: poor organisation, very late start, far shorter than cited, no obvious reason for the event.

On our last night we made a second trip to Canary Wharf for the shops and without all the crowds it’s a lot nicer (photographs will be in a later post). The shops shut late, which is useful. Overall it may be worth a short trip, but it’s nothing to get too excited about.

The rest of my photos. If you want to see them full size, right click and open them in a new window/tab.

Please note: this isn’t a sponsored post, in fact I very much doubt the owner of the apartment will find it.

We didn’t have accommodation plans until the day before we left. Trying to combine a love of the central area with my boyfriend’s fear of congestion charges was hard. We looked at Balham, and a place in Wimbledon, before finding a few apartments by the Thames. The choice was no longer as difficult. We chose an apartment opposite Canary Wharf that didn’t look very big or particularly pretty inside, but was right near the bus stop for the Tube.

When we got there, wow. The views were spectacular, Canary Wharf literally right opposite. We had to use a radiator on the coldest days but the apartment was a very good size.

The first night all we did was marvel and take photographs. Waking in the morning to the river was also wonderful, and as much as it might get dull if you lived there, hearing the tide, the boats, and the planes from Heathrow was lovely.

There was a lot of storage space in the bedroom, the owner is prepared for long leases. And the reading material was very eclectic. We’ve stayed at places with a variety of books before, but here the owner had really aimed to cater for everyone.

The only bad thing was the lack of cooking utensils. There was also nowhere to really store food other than the fridge, we had to make do with the counter top. But the access to the Thames ferry was great, in the same complex. It only took 5 minutes to get to the other side, Canary Wharf.

We loved the accommodation so much that despite the fact it was more money than we’d usually pay we would definitely go back. You just can’t beat waking up to a river in front of you.

The rest of my photos. If you want to see them full size, right click and open them in a new window/tab.