Day 3 of my latest mega-sojourn. Catching a train from Middlesbrough to Darlington, I changed onto one to Alnmouth, and 1½ hours later, I was making my way up a small hill to the nearby bus stop, in plenty of time for the next bus to Alnwick. The bus took just over ten minutes, and ten minutes after that I was at the main gate of Alnwick Castle, showing my pre-booked ticket for entry, and being given a Visitors Map. The Castle which dates back to the 1300s is the second largest inhabited castle in the UK, and has served as a military outpost for the Northumberland Fusiliers, a teaching college, a refuge for evacuees, a film set (most notably in the ‘Harry Potter’ films), and not least as a family home for the Percy family, the Dukes of Northumberland.
My first point of call was to the far corner of the Outer Bailey, and the part of the Castle that was of Sherlockian interest - the Fusiliers Museum of Northumberland in the Abbot's Tower. The museum’s displays give a contemporary presentation of Fusilier history from their origins in 1674 up to the present day, arranged thematically and brought to life through individual stories past and present, following a soldier’s journey from recruit to veteran. According to ‘A Study in Scarlet’, Dr. John H. Watson was amongst their number:
‘In the year 1878 I took my degree of Doctor of Medicine of the University of London, and proceeded to Netley to go through the course prescribed for surgeons in the Army. Having completed my studies there, I was duly attached to the Fifth Northumberland Fusiliers as assistant surgeon. The regiment was stationed in India at the time, and before I could join it, the Second Afghan War had broken out. On landing at Bombay, I learned that my corps had advanced through the passes, and was already deep in the enemy’s country. I followed, however….and succeeded in reaching Kandahar in safety, where I found my regiment, and at once entered upon my new duties’ – Dr. John H. Watson [STUD]
I therefore wandered around the three floors of the
museum, taking photos of all exhibits relating to the Fifth Northumberland
Fusiliers and the Second Afghan War. These included a recruitment poster for the 'Bold Fifth', twenty medals from the Second Afghan War including one with Kandahar and Ahmed Khei clasps (won by Private G Turnbull), a rum measure used on the North West Afghanistan Frontier, a pillbox cap and officer's helmet from the 1st Volunteer Battalion 1862-1893, and details of the effects of Dysentry in the Afghan Campaign.
I then wandered around the museum looking at all
the displays again, taking photos of some of the other exhibits including two regimental mascots - Drummer (1893-1902) and Sammy (1915-1916), uniforms from throughout the regiment's history, and musical instruments.
Finally I visited the museum gift shop, buying a souvenir brochure about the regiment, including a section where they pour scorn on Watson being a member of the Fifth, as well as a Northumberland Fusiliers Cap Badge.
Leaving the museum I had to navigate large swathes of children having broomstick lessons on the Outer Bailey as Harry, Ron & Hermione had in ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’. Making my way to the Inner Bailey, I was just in time to join an 'Alnwick On Location' Film Tour, but not before I spotted former ‘Blue Peter’/’One Show’ presenter, Matt Baker, doing some filming for a Channel 4 travel documentary.
The tour guide began by revealing that although the Castle is best known for its starring role as Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the first two ‘Harry Potter’ films, it has made many appearances in film and television, featuring in two ‘Downton Abbey’ Christmas Specials (2014 & 2015), ‘The Black Adder’, ‘Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves’, the recent ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves’, and most surprisingly ‘Transformers: The Last Knight’, amongst others.
The first port of call was the nearby Lion Arch which served as the way in and out of Hogwarts, heading towards Hagrid’s cabin and the Forbidden Forest. Although after the first two films a model of Hogwarts was used for all filming, the model does feature the Lion Arch as the main entrance to the castle. A raised area to the side of the path assisted in making Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) tower over the children.
It also appears in ‘Downton Abbey’ as the gateway through which the Crawley family enter Brancaster Castle, where they were spending Christmas 1924, and in ‘Transformers: The Last Knight’ where it was the entrance to the castle of Sir Edmund Burton (Anthony Hopkins) where Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg) and Bumblebee are shot at by Bulldog, a tank Transformer. The latter film also featured an entire meadow of fake daffodils as these had been in bloom when director Michael Bay visited on a recce earlier in the summer but had died off by September’s filming.
Next up was the Inner Bailey is where Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and Ron (Rupert Grint) crash-landed the Weasley family’s flying Ford Anglia in ‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets’, with the Whomping Willow being mainly CGI, but with some actual branches which were used to attack the car which was on a rig. The guide indicated that sixteen cars (in various stages of destruction) were used for filming the sequence. Rowan Atkinson’s stunt double in ‘The Black Adder’ also fell from the battlements, which also featured a pivotal scene in the final episode of Downton Abbey’ which was being filmed whilst the castle was open to visitors (who were gathered just out of shot straining to hear spoilers).
Next up was the courtyard leading to the state rooms which appeared in the sequence where Ron mocks Hermione (Emma Watson) for showing off in Charms Class, not knowing that she is standing behind him, leading her to rush to the girls’ bathroom to cry, needing to be saved by Harry and Ron from a marauding troll, cementing their friendship. The courtyard also appeared as part of Nottingham Castle in ‘Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves’.
The final stop, the Outer Bailey was instantly
recognisable as the area where Harry and his fellow students learned to fly
broomsticks with Madam Hooch (Zoe Wanamaker) in the first film. (But on the other lawn to the one that the children were currently learning on) The filming included a shock for Neville
Longbottom actor, Matthew Lewis, who believed that his out-of-control broom
would be filmed using CGI, but arrived to find a broom attached to a crane.
However, the good news was that this cured him of his previous fear of heights.
Harry also learned the rules of wizarding sport, Quidditch, here with Oliver
Wood (Sean Biggerstaff). The guide also pointed out the Percy family crest which is divided into four as is the Hogwarts crest, with a (Gryfindor) Lion in prime place.
This brought the tour to an end, and retracing my steps, I made my way inside the state rooms which featured in ‘Downton Abbey’ and ‘Transformers: The Last Knight’, but where photography was prohibited. The rooms were decorated in the finest styles of the Italian Renaissance, with carved, painted, and gilded ceilings, silk wall coverings and a collection of Old Master paintings. There was also a special exhibition, ‘Crowns and Coronets’ in celebration of the Coronation of King Charles III, displaying objects linked to the involvement of various members of the Percy Family in royal coronations over the centuries.
Before leaving the castle, I made my way to Artisans Courtyard, not having time to dress up in medieval costume, to experience another walk-through attraction (after the ‘Dracula Experience’ the day before) – Dragon Quest – which featured rope bridges, a mirror maze, and finally (after quite a wait having just missed it) an animatronic dragon rearing up at me through smoke.
Exiting through the gift shop, again purchasing some postcards, I walked the five minutes to the nearby Bailiffgate Museum, which outlines the history of Alnwick over three floors.
It was then a fifteen minute walk to my final stop of the day, Barter Books, one of the largest secondhand bookshops in Britain. This included a very impressive mural of authors and characters, but did not feature Conan Doyle or Holmes. However, on a rail was DOYLE, as part of a long line of author’s names (between HOUSEMAN and WHARTON). Fittingly my only purchase (along with a postcard of the mural) was a copy of ‘Harrius Potter et Philosophi Lapis’, a Latin translation of the first book.
Making my way back to Alnwick Bus Station, I waited for my bus back to Alnmouth Station. And waited. And waited. Finally, over fifteen minutes late, it pulled in and left twenty minutes late. I was aware that this would likely mean that I would miss my booked train to my next destination, so was concerned for the whole of the twelve minute journey, particularly as it seemed to be stopping at every bus stop. On arrival at the bus stop, my watch indicated that my train was due in one minute, and just as I started off down the hill it pulled into the station. Reaching a surprisingly fast speed, I managed to just get to the platform and step into the nearest carriage just as the doors closed and the train pulled away. Looking around I found that luckily I had boarded the carriage where my booked seat was. Having got my breath back, I made my way to my seat for the hour’s journey to Edinburgh Waverley.
At Edinburgh, I changed onto a train for Glasgow, and a further hour later was alighting at Glasgow Queen Street. My accommodation for the next couple of days was a half-hour walk away so I strode off, passing Strathclyde University’s Wonderwall which was created during the summer of 2014 to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Royal Charter, which conferred the University's status, alongside the 2014 Commonwealth Games. It covers more than 1,000 square metres and tells the tales of several Strathclyders, including a section featuring a TARDIS and original producer Verity Lambert, who was responsible for bringing the dreaded Daleks to television screens. Lambert received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree by the University in 1988, and after this arranged that her personal archive was gifted to Strathclyde.
Finally I reached the B&B where I was staying, collapsing after what had been a very long day.
No comments:
Post a Comment