King of the castle

In the warm sunshine today, 12.5 degrees! Henry and I went exploring.

As we drove to Fotheringhay, we passed daffodils in flower and flocks of geese sunning themselves by the river. Red kites decorated the blue skies at every turn.

We strolled up to the castle mound . The sheep had control and one was definitely king of the castle !

This slice of history was covered in sheep and obviously at other times of the day in rabbits galore. It is the sight of Richard III birth in its great hall and the execution of Mary Queen of Scots.

The Sheep were very photogenic .

I liked the sheep’s wool floating in the breeze amongst the branches rather like decorations or offerings.

This mound has been involved in some amazing stories of our history . It was founded in the early 12 century built by the Earl of Northampton. It then on his death became passed to Scottish kings, through the marriage of the Earls widow. In 1452 Richard III is born here and lives here for six years. Henry the eighth gives the castle to Catherine of Aragon , and then subsequent wives!! The most notable time is the imprisonment of Mary Queen of Scots and her execution on the 8th of February in 1588.

There is some information to read about the historical links and stories in the church.

Today Fotheringhay is a quiet beautiful village sitting on a sweeping bend of the River Nene , it certainly isn’t at the centre of royal power struggles. It is a wonderful place to visit and although there isn’t the building of the castle it certainly has an atmosphere of time gone by.