Middleham Castle
“For three hundred years, this northern castle, which the Earl of Warwick favored above his many others, had dominated the rolling hills and meadows of Wensleydale. Richard had expected an imposing grey fortress, not the pearly jewel-box framed against the azure sky, and he stared, as wonderstruck as when he first crossed the River Trent.” ~~ The Rose of York: Love & War

Warwick Castle
At Warwick Castle, against a castle wall, rises a tiered garden that leads up to a high bedchamber. Known as “Richard III's Garden,” here survives the garden Richard designed for his beloved Anne. When his queen was dying and no longer had strength to visit the rhododendrums and fragrant flowering shrubs below, Richard found a way to bring them up to her.

Ludlow Castle
The Duke of York's stronghold on the Welsh marches.
“Standing high on a hill near the River Teme, Ludlow Castle had been cold and damp, the walls thick, the windows narrow. The castle had been crowded with his father's soldiers, friends and servants. Since there was little furniture besides some trestle tables and a few benches, they sat on the stairs, slept on rushes and lounged on cushions. The air was pungent with the smell of horses, dogs, sweat. And the scent of fear. Death lurked in the shadows at Ludlow.” ~~ Richard of Gloucester reflecting on past events at Ludlow, The Rose of York: Love & War

Warkworth and Alnwick Castles
“Alnwick Castle lay on a wide stretch of the River Aln, in the far reaches of England, so near to Scotland that John could come home for a night's stay when he was patrolling the border. With its stateliness and life-size stone sentinels guarding the battlements, it looked what it was: a powerful fortress designed to repel enemies. But Warkworth, a few miles farther south, on a loop of the River Coquet, was smaller and felt to me more of a home.” ~~ Isobel in Lady of the Roses

Raby Castle
“As we drew near, Raby Castle changed its demeanor and showed its true face: a stronghold of soaring towers and impregnable walls daring foes to attack at their peril. Nearly a hundred years old and built by the powerful Nevilles on the site of a fortified manor of King Canute, from whom they were descended, it stood tall and defiant, its history rolling back nearly six centuries. Even the intricately carved figures on the battlements seemed to cast a fierce eye on us as we cantered through the stone gatehouse that guarded the drawbridge over the castle moat.” ~~ Isobel's observations, Lady of the Roses.

Bamburgh Castle
One of my favorite scenes in Lady of the Roses is set at Bamburgh Castle, near the end of the book when Isobel confronts John about something heinous that has happened. I remember vividly the power and the magic of the night I spent walking the long, lonely stretch of shore by the deserted castle. Ominous clouds raced across the sky; the wind was wild; and the vast North Sea a molten silver. It was ten-thirty on a summer’s night, and the sun was just setting, turning all the world from rose to pewter. I can still hear the roar of the ocean in my ears and see the bluff where Isobel and John would stand at this momentous turning point in their lives.

Barnard Castle
“She opened her eyes and a gasp of awe escaped her lips. Stone, seven feet thick, had been chiselled away to make room for a magnificent oriele window. Situated directly in the center of the great hall, it projected out to the cliff and overlooked the thundering River Tees and rich forests of larch and pine. An intricate boar insignia was carved into the stone below the window seat and sunshine poured through a border of colored glass that displayed the Plantagenet and Neville coat of arms, spilling rainbows at her feet.” ~~ Anne Neville in The Rose of York: Love & War


Sherriff Hutton
“We received a warm welcome from the servants and keepers at Sherriff Hutton. But the days bore down heavily on me. Sherriff Hutton with its eight mighty towers of stone, magnificent wall hangings, hallways and stately stairways was huge, and very lonely.” ~~ Elizabeth of York in The King's Daughter

“In the dark shadows behind their flickering light, Anne watched Richard. All day—as she went about her business, receiving petitioners, welcoming guests, visiting friends and selecting gifts to be sent to well-wishers—her thoughts had been on him, on what was happening behind the barred doors of Crosby Place and across the way at Baynard’s Castle where Richard was to be found more and more. Worried about him, anxious to see him, she had come to Baynard.” ~~ Anne Neville in The Rose of York: Crown of Destiny

“Richard felt as if time had rolled back, so little had changed in Bruges in the ten years since he’d walked its cobbled streets. It was still as cold as he remembered, and the canals looping through the walled city were still crowded with swans and boats as before. The only difference was that more arched stone bridges and windmills had been built in the meanwhile.
In the tavern of The Blind Donkey, near the Eglise Notre Dame where he had gone to meet his old friend William Caxton two days before All Hallow’s Eve, Richard slipped Anne’s letter back into his doublet. Until that moment at Westminster when he’d first learned of Anne’s betrothal, he’d believed with utter certainty that they would wed some day. Even now he dared to hope, and he wondered at the incredible foolishness of the human heart, and the stubbornness and tenacity of hope.” ~~ Richard of Gloucester in The Rose of York: Love & War

For more photos and information about Bruges, the city called the “Venice of the North” that gave Richard III refuge during his two exiles, see Events, and Articles.