This is a natural spot for a fortress, perched on
a huge rocky outcrop overlooking a magnificent beach to the east
and charming village to the west.
The Celts called it Dun Guoaroy; it has connections
with the King Arthur legend, as it was to this fortress that Sir
Lancelot was supposed to have carried off Queen Guinevere.
That story may be fanciful (as, alas, is most of the Arthurian
legend) but the connection of the "real Arthur" (who,
if he ever existed, would have been a Celtic Warlord) with the
North is not unreasonable. Arthurian place-names, alleged battle
sites (eg River Glen, near Wooler and Camboglanna on Hadrian's
Wall) etc may be located in the border counties just as readily
as in Wales and the West Country.
In 547AD, The Angle, King Ida, landed here and,
having defeated the Celtic leader (probably Dutigern) made it
his base from which to commence the conquest of Northumberland.
Henceforth, the spot would be known as Bebbanburgh, now Bamburgh.
Having become an important seat of the Kings of
Northumbria, Bamburgh was briefly the capital of England. Viking
invasions, however, led to the gradual decay of the Kingdom and
in 993AD they finally destroyed the castle.
The Normans, however, recognised the defensive potential of the
site and soon constructed a new and stronger castle which, in
spite of many wars and sieges, destruction and rebuilding, has
survived to the present day.
It is now the home of the Armstrong family and is open to the
public. In addition to viewing the castle itself, tourists now
have the additional bonus of visiting the Armstrong Museum of
Victorian Industrial Archaeology, which is located there.
