There's a lot to be said for period restoration and expensive upkeep. No such folly up on the Wigmore hills with panoramic views across the low lying Moor, the Roman Watling Street and on towards Ludlow. Owners English Heritage have stepped in and, with minimal expense on signage, left Wigmore Castle mainly to the natural elements. Grasses, ferns and flowers run wild and now protect its substantial walls from rain, wind and snow. What you get is both ruinous and spectacular. A sorrowful decaying collection of crumbling towers and eroded stonework.
Sitting proud, surrounded by rich woodland and connected to the village and church by a ribbon of high ground, the castle must have been huge in its day. Begun in 1067, it provided a major power base for the Mortimer family for 500 years. Park at the small village hall car park and walk back and across the main road, up the steep footpath to the lovely church of St James which dates back to Saxon times. From there, if you're not dead already it's a long, often muddy walk to get to the castle, but well worth the pain!
On approach, the massive gatehouse is now sunken and opens onto a huge apron of tended grassland inside the castle walls. Just standing here evokes the ghosts of yesterday; pageantry, wind, rain, procession, cooking, laughter, fires burning bright into the night sky…… now nothing but blissful peace and the winds blowing around the romantic stone ruins. It's an amazingly powerful thinking space. You may even have the whole castle to yourself - and its all free! Not many of those to the pound.
Photo - Dave Fletcher
Copyright@2022
Comments