Donnington Castle

Still creaky today, but I needed to get out so Catie and I took a picnic and went down to Donnington Castle for the afternoon. Being a week day there weren't many other people about so we spread a blanket in the shade of the gatehouse and relaxed for a while, enjoying having the castle all to ourselves. I used to come here a lot but for some reason quite a few years have passed since my last visit. It's a castle with a fascinating history including a long siege during the Civil Wars (which left the cannon ball scars visible on the wall here) and providing the backdrop to the Second Battle of Newbury. It also once belonged to Thomas Chaucer, the son of Geoffrey Chaucer and was the home of Alice Chaucer (grand daughter of the poet, wife of the Duke of Suffolk who played such a prominent role in the end game of the Hundred Years' War and the preamble to the Wars of the Roses). Today it fed the imagination....and we had muffins.