Farleigh Hungerford Castle

Farleigh Hungerford castle was the destination for our Sunday outing.

It has a fascinating history including a wife burning the dead body of her murdered husband in one of the castle's ovens.

I told the boys that's the reason why we have a relatively small oven so that Mrs Running Backwards doesn't get any ideas!

The countryside on this side of Bath is great and it made us wonder why we don't head this way more often.

The castle was interesting with a good audio guide. There's not a massive amount left but the chapel is completely intact and has rare lead coffins, still containing embalmed bodies, in the crypt.

Rumour has it that one of the coffins had a hole in the lead casing through which the embalming fluids and any other materials had, on occasion, been sucked through a straw.

Each to their own?! NO! Why would you do that?!

We survived the membership hard sell in the shop which involved going through most of English Heritage's delightful properties in Southern England and the benefits that joining would have for our primary school age children! A nice man though and I guess these organisations have suffered in the recession like everyone else.

Sunday afternoon faffing awaits!