Back in August my family took a visit to Belvoir Castle. 

The castle you see today was built in 1801, but there has been a castle standing on the hill in Leicestershire since Norman times.

The land was gifted by William the conqueror to his standard bearers after the Battle of Hasting in 1066 and has remained in the  family ever since.

I saw on the news this morning that the Bayeux Tapestry is being leant to Britain for the first time in 950 years and plan to go and see when it arrives. 

Internet image

As I am sure you can imagine, the fact some form of a castle has stood on that hill over the centuries, the inside was filled with very impressive rooms. 

Unfortunately there was no photo's allowed to be taken inside, so these images are from off the internet. 

The day was made extremely special by our tour guide. A lovely little Welsh lady called Rhi. She showed us around the different rooms and brought the castle to life with her extensive knowledge and funny stories. One being where the term 'painting the town red', had come from. It turn out a rather drunken Marques of Waterford while on a hunting trip with friend near the town of Melton Mowbray, had stolen some paint and thought it funny to paint the town. Read here the full crime. 

Rhi also went on to tell us about her beloved birds of prey. Percil the owl and Rodney and Scooby the hawks. 

The outside of the castle was impressive and it was a beautiful summer day so I was able to get some super photos of the outside and gardens. 

 

A great day out and would highly recommend you pay the extra for the tour guide, especially if it's Rhi. 

@juliank 

@photocontests