Castle Rising...Castle

Date: 4th February 2007

Matthew and I decided that another adventure was in order. This time the victim of out frontal assault; Castle Rising in Norfolk.

We set off at about half 9 in the morning, the air crisp and clean revitalising the body and sharpening the mind. Our first port of call is Tesco in Royston to obtain what have become known as 'supplies'. Despite what the name suggests there is nothing essential about this items for ones survival they are in fact for one use only. To send your body into a spiral of sugar induced frenzy and turns you into a mental dervish, the outcome of which is both baffling and in my humble opinion entertaining. We get aforementioned supplies, but are finding it hard to find the car in the car park through the tears of laughter which are already streaming down our faces and narrowing our vision sending us into a water coated world of ecstasy.

The journey continues in much the same way, environment induced jokes, songs and strange strange noises ensue to create a carrousel indistinguishable language, movement and sound which quickly reduces even the most earnest to baffled hysteria

We find a road sign to Castle Rising...Well, actually we find a sign that points to Castle Rising Castle, which of course sends us both into another fit of laughter about the 'stupidness' of the sign and the people who made it (not thinking from within our orgy of activity that the town is called Castle Rising)...We turn a few corners, nearly miss the turning...we're being followed up a small lane by another car and the following happens;

"There is a man behind us"

"Yep"

"SPEED, WE NEED SPEED"

"Mat, the car park is theeeeeeeeere"

LOLOLOLOL

That was Matt speeding up and swinging the car into a lane for the car park, swinging it hard...lol., but we are there, we park up and move towards the castle.

Then we spot it. The bridge, the fire builds up inside both of us...we feel the call.

The call to charge the bridge and take the castle! Matt speeds off, like a soldier from ancient past.

Nothing can stop a charge wrought like this. He reaches penetrating speed, but he stops, almost sliding to a standstill...What thing or power of earth could have stopped his progress into the castle!? 5 simple words;

"NO ENTRY WITHOUT A TICKET"

The charge of the unstoppable force that is Matthew, to which armies have fled and Gods have bowed (metaphorically ofc), stopped by the power of THE TICKET!!! We turn and go towards the ticket office where after some banter about people ignoring the sign and running into the castle with the nice gentleman behind the counter emerge again with tickets bought and free access before us! Fools!!!

We storm the bridge, again and again, making it suffer for our previous insult!

Then we settle a little and take a look at the castle in it's glory! An amazing sight. The sun beaming onto one side, the grounds around it calm and tranquil. The view from the Motte is awesome, the trees and houses close by, the fields rolling off into the distance, it really is beautiful. The inside of the castle is as one would expect, the smell of ancient stone fills the air, you can feel the power and the history pulsing from every stone. We move through the castle slowly, appreciating every nook and cranny, every hole and every wall.