Famous Castles Series

 

Explore some of the great castles of the world:

Framlingham Castle, Suffolk

Chillon Castle, Switzerland

Orava Castle, Slovakia

Almourol Castle, Portugal

Cahir Castle, Ireland

Hohenwerfen Castle, Austria

Osaka Castle, Japan

Malbork Castle, Poland

Spiš Castle, Slovakia

Alnwick Castle, Scotland

Citadel of Qaitbay, Alexandria

Chittorgarh Fort, India

Mehrangarh Fort, India

Craigdarroch Castle, Victoria, British Columbia

Kronborg Castle, Denmark

Warwick Castle, England

Chateau des Baux, France

Tintagel Castle, Cornwall

 The Queen's Stepwell:  Rani ki Vav

Gujarat, India

  

A Video About the Site:

The Incredible Subterranean Temple of Rani Ki Vav, India: The Queen's Stepwell

 

 You can use Streetview to explore the site:

 

 Start at the top and descend into the stepwell:

 

Explore the Queen's Stepwell using Streetview

 

Abel Tasman Coast Track - New Zealand

 

 The Abel Tasman Coast Track is a spectacular 60 km coastal hike in Abel Tasman National Park on the north coast of New Zealand's South Island.

 

 

Join some Canadian hikers on the track:

 

Join Ryan and Rachel for a three day, two night hike:

We start our hike at the southern end of the track near the town of Marahau:

Trail head for the Abel Tasman Coast Track

You can also take an exciting boat ride up the coast paralleling the trail:

Start of the Coastal Boat Ride

 

Famous Castles: Framlingham Castle, Suffolk

Framlingham Castle is located in Suffolk, northeast of London.

 

The English Heritage site provides an excellent aerial overview of the castle:

Postcard from Framlingham Castle, Suffolk

The Tudor Travel Guide provides an excellent history of the castle as well as a reconstruction of how the castle looked in the 16th century:

Framlingham Castle, Suffolk: A Tudor Stronghold 

 

In WWII there was an important RAF air base near Framlingham and the castle provided an invaluable navigation point for returning aircraft.

 

Flying Fortresses of the 95th Bomb Group pass over Framlingham on their return from a mission.
Picture: Horham 95th Bomb Group Heritage Association. Colour by colouriser.co.uk

The 95th Bomb Group (pictured above) arrived in England in the spring of 1943 and stayed briefly in Framlingham. They entered combat on 13 May 1943 by attacking an airfield at Saint-Omer. After suffering disastrous losses in its daylight air attacks on the Continent, the 95th was transferred to nearby RAF Horham on 15 June to regroup.

The Memorials Foundation provides an excellent website about...

The 95th Bomb Group 

The East Anglian Daily Times provides a fascinating article on WWII in Framlingham:

The War Years in Framlingham

Framlingham Castle was used by the British military as part of the regional defenses against a potential German invasion.

 

We begin our trek by entering the castle through the main gate:

 

Or we can walk the picturesque trail around the outer walls:

 

Famous Islands: Iona, Scotland

 

 Iona is a small island off the west coast of Scotland with a long and fascinating history, and a magical ambience.

The shelters on the island have a wonderful set of map and information boards:
 

BBC Scotland presents an excellent overview video:

 

View Iona from above:

The light and colors of Iona are magical in any weather, and the following documentary tours the island to show the colors that inspired the local creation of the Sound of Iona tartan:

 

Historic UK presents some History of Iona and St Columba

 Electric Scotland presents a more detailed History of Iona

A history video set to the Mike Scott and Waterboys song Peace of Iona:

 

Many believe that the famous illuminated manuscript the Book of Kells was begun or even completed at the monastery on Iona.

Join us for an exploration of...

The Beautiful and Mysterious Book of Kells

 

We begin our trek on the road leading up from the dock:

From here you can follow a circuit trail passing the famous abbey and continuing around the island:
 

A 360 degree view of the abbey and surrounding area:
 

See inside the abbey with another 360 degree view:

 

Famous Islands: Pitcairn Island

 

 

Pitcairn Island, final destination of the Bounty mutineers, and sometimes called the remotest place on earth.  The mutineers burned the Bounty when they reached the island.

 

 

Exploring Pitcairn Island by Drone

Take Me To Pitcairn

  One man attempts to re-trace the romantic voyages of the most infamous fugitives in British naval history

The forgotten history of Pitcairn Island

We head to Pitcairn Island from our expedition ship:

 We land on the sea battered pier:

 

And begin our trek with a climb, retracing the route of the Bounty mutineers:

 

On the strenuous way up, we can pause to look back down at the pier far below:

And there are lots of interesting trails to explore on the island.  Just click on the yellow peg man to view and access the streetview trails:
  

Famous Castles: Chillon Castle, Switzerland

Chillon Castle is at the eastern end of Lake Geneva, near Montreux, Switzerland:

Video Fly Over of the Castle:

Some history of the castle:

   Chillon Castle Official Website - History of the Castle

From the Exploring Castles Website: 

Chillon Castle: A Fairytale on the Banks of Lake Geneva, Switzerland

 

The poets Shelley and Byron sailed up Lake Geneva and visited the castle.  Byron was inspired to write his famous poem:

The Prisoner of Chillon

We begin our trek through the castle at the main gate at the bottom left of the above plan:

 

 Or enjoy spectacular views from the battlements:

 

 Or explore the famous dungeons that inspired the poet Byron: