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DateLine Sunday, 13 May 2007

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At Harry Potter's school of magic

Dear Diary,

We are again heading towards the season of Harry Potter. Did you know that the launch of the fifth Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and the last book in the series, Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, is scheduled for July? So, we thought of exploring a place that had been used as a film location for Harry Potter.

Alnwick Castle in England had been a location for the first two Harry Potter films...as the school Hogwarts. This building is still very much a living (being used) castle, as it has been for nearly seven hundred years.

There is so much to see and so much to do at this place. The attractions cover history, art, landscape and fun events for children. Alnwick Castle is the second largest inhabited castle in England (the first being Windsor Castle) and has been the home of the Percys, Earls and Dukes of Northumberland since 1309. The earliest mention of Alnwick Castle in the history books appears soon after 1096, when Yves de Vescy became Baron of Alnwick and erected the earliest parts of the Castle.

The Castle was first restored by the First Lord Percy of Alnwick in the early 1300s and portions of this restoration, including the Abbot's Tower, the Middle Gateway and the Constable's Tower, can be seen today. Alnwick Castle and its surrounding parkland offer a beautiful and unspoilt setting for filmmakers.

The Castle itself is an ideal historical film location. Its medieval exterior and surrounding landscape offer authentic (true) backdrops requiring little or no alterations. In Hulne Park, this adjoins the Castle, with 3,000 acres of outstanding natural beauty, all totally enclosed by a nine-mile long wall, providing security and privacy.

There is a wealth of potential location sites within the park. These include the remains of a 13th century Carmelite priory, Hulne Abbey, regarded as the best preserved in the country; the remains of Alnwick Abbey with excellent level surrounding areas and mature parkland features; unspoilt parklands of the Lancelot Brown ("Capability Brown") period; a wide range of riverside features; and general moor, crag, and woodland.

Since the Second World War, parts of the castle have been used by various educational establishments: first, by the Newcastle Church High School for Girls, from 1945 to 1975, as a teacher training college; and since 1981, by St. Cloud State University, as a branch campus forming part of its International Study Programme.

Special exhibitions are housed in three of the castle's perimeter towers. The Postern Tower, as well as featuring an exhibition on the Dukes of Northumberland and their interest in archaeology, includes frescoes from Pompeii, relics from Ancient Egypt and Romano-British objects.

Constable's Tower houses military displays like the Percy Tenantry Volunteers exhibition, local, volunteer soldiers raised to repel (defeat) Napoleon's planned invasion in the period 1798-1814. The Abbot's Tower houses the Regimental Museum of the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers. The castle is open to the public throughout the summer.

The castle consists of two main wings (of buildings). The inner wing is set around a small courtyard and contains the main rooms.

This structure is at the centre of a large bailey (outer wall of a castle). As the central block was not large enough to contain all the accommodation required in later centuries, a large range of buildings was constructed along the south wall of the bailey. These two main areas of accommodation are connected by a link building.

There are towers at regular intervals along the walls of the outer bailey. About a sixth of the bailey has been reduced almost to ground level to open up views into the park. Stable and service yards adjoin the castle outside the bailey; these would not have existed when the castle still had a military function.

Alnwick Castle has two parks. Immediately to the north of the castle is a relatively small park straddling the River Aln which was landscaped by Lancelot Brown and Thomas Call in the 18th century; it is known locally as The Pastures. Nearby is the much larger Hulne Park, which contains the remains of Hulne Priory.

The castle has been well repaired and is used for many purposes. It provides a home for the present Duke and family, and offices for Northumberland Estates, which manages the Duke's extensive farming and property holdings.

The building provides a fantastic view and a sense of living in the era of European kings. We really liked the place. If the readers of this journal get a chance to visit Europe, this is a place that should never be missed.

Bye

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