Castles and Caves for Inspiration

While I am busy editing a manuscript for a vampire hunter novel, my mind is beginning to wander away to new territory. I haven’t written any new stories for a couple of months, and now I’m feeling restless. I do have a few unfinished manuscripts that I should probably attend to, but surely, I can allow time for another project in the meantime?

Anyway, I found a little inspiration at the caves I saw when I visited Beeston Castle in Cheshire. As an English Heritage member, I have visited this castle a few times during the past couple of years, but up to now I had not seen the caves. I think my children had been difficult or unwilling to walk that far, although as it turns out, the caves are not too far from the main entrance to the castle grounds. We couldn’t actually go inside the caves as they are fenced off, but I pressed my face to the iron bars and let my imagination wander… would we find a vampire lurking in the darkness, or a pack of hungry werewolves? Or maybe something more sinister still… Let’s see what happens when I start to write a new story.

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Night Stairs to Dormitory #LoveCastles

Do you like my title? Sounds like a fascinating book, don’t you think? Well, it hasn’t been written yet, at least not by me. I just returned from a family holiday in Northumberland, and we visited the Holy Island Lindisfarne. Using our English Heritage membership, we visited Lindisfarne Priory, and enjoyed a fascinating tour of this religious relic. I found the site peaceful and full of intrigue, including the information plaques that were scattered about the ruins.

 This one in particular caught my imagination. The ruined steps are crumbling and stand in the middle of a grassy area, what was once the priory hall. Looking across and up, I could see more steps floating in the ruined tower, and I could only imagine how it must have felt to be a monk trudging up those dark and cold stairs on this lonely island all those centuries ago. Why did they have night stairs to the dormitory? What was the significance? I couldn’t find out while I was there, but I haven’t yet read the guide book that I bought. Perhaps that will hold the answers I seek…

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