Experience a complete history set in stone

8:25am Monday 7th April 2008

Peering out of the watch tower window at Skipton Castle, at the glorious greenery surrounding the 900-year-old site, you can imagine bracing yourself for an impending military attack.

The commanding view, giving the garrison early warning of invasion, was why the Normans chose this site for a castle. No wonder it survived a three-year siege in the Civil War and was the last fortress in the North to hold out for King Charles.

Skipton Castle is one of the country's best-preserved, most complete medieval castles. It dates from 1090 but was strengthened in 1310 by Robert, the first Clifford Lord of Skipton. The castle's history is alive in the stones used to build it through the centuries, reflecting turbulent periods of English history.

After buying our tickets we were given an illustrated tour sheet. It's advisable to take this route to ensure you get a complete tour of the castle, going in the same direction as everyone else.

We entered through an early 17th century Renaissance Grotto - one of only two to survive in England today - then crossed the site of the old drawbridge into the inner castle, walking under the same arch that Norman soldiers used 800 years ago.

We found ourselves in the picturesque Tudor courtyard, where a magnificent 350-year-old yew tree takes centre stage. It was planted as a sapling in 1659 by Lady Anne Clifford after her restoration of the castle.

From there we went into the banqueting hall, where you can imagine assorted gentry seated around a huge table, gnawing on chicken legs and knocking back goblets of wine.

We walked through the medieval kitchen to the part of the castle that children tend to remember most from visits to Skipton Castle. It was the only thing I could recall from a primary school trip there.

It was the privy' - basically, a stone seat with a hole leading down to the ground outside. It must have been a bit draughty on cold winter nights. The privy prompted a fit of giggles from the children in our party, just as it has done for countless generations of young visitors.

We made our way to the kitchen, which served the castle for more than 350 years and still has ancient stone baking ovens and a huge roasting hearth, then on to the withdrawing room. From here, there's a view northwards that Mary Queen of Scots, held prisoner in Skipton Castle for a while, may well have contemplated.

There's another delightful view of the grounds and surrounding Craven countryside from the Lord's day room, and from the watch tower's middle floor you can see the level to which the Parliamentarians reduced the outer wall.

Our tour sheet informed us that in the 1650s, with the threat of war over, Lady Clifford put large windows into her newly-restored outer walls. I wonder if she also knocked up a bookshelf, laid down some laminate flooring and stuck in a living flame' fire?

Carefully descending the narrow spiral staircase (watch out for those pesky trip steps'!) we entered the oldest part of the castle - the Norman fighting chamber - then reached a staircase leading down to darkness.

As we'd made our way around, I'd lost count of how often I'd heard: "Are we in the dumjen yet?" My five-year-old nephew, Jack, was fearful but fascinated by the idea of visiting an ancient dark dungeon, and when we eventually got down there he gripped my hand tightly. We squeezed in among the party of visitors huddled there and a tour guide explained what the dungeon had been used for.

Basically, if you killed one of the Lord's rabbits to feed your starving family you could end up locked up in 24-hour darkness, with one meal a day. After several long weeks you were taken to York, by foot, where a judge would decide your fate.

If found guilty, it was off to another prison (or worse) and if not guilty you had to make your own way back from York, despite the fact that you may have gone blind from living in darkness. To say life was tough back then would be an understatement.

"Now I'm going to turn off the light for a moment, so you get a sense of total darkness," said the guide. Jack looked up, tears welling in his eyes, and had to be led outside while the light was turned off and everyone dutifully shouted "Let us out!"

Despite his tears, Jack remained fascinated with the dumjen' and kept asking to go back as we continued our way around the castle!

Back in the courtyard, we passed the old yew tree and entered a doorway leading into the 17th century wine and beer cellars, (King Edward I stayed here in 1292, when these two rooms were one), then explored the new kitchen', used from 1680 until 1900, where a centuries-old charcoal heated stove contrasts with an iron 1840s range.

While it's fascinating and fun to look around and imagine life throughout the ages, my only gripe is that all the rooms are empty and after a while they look pretty similar. By the time we reached the ground floor of the watch tower we had to consult our tour sheet to check we hadn't been there before.

Maybe they could have figures dressed in period costume and some replica cooking and military equipment dotted around. I'm not saying it should be like Jorvik, with smells and sound effects, just something bringing to life a sense of history.

We ended our tour, from the depths of the dungeon to the top of the watch tower, wandering through the Norman south chamber, where you can see the original arrow loop through the hearth and a cunning squint' enabling the defender to shoot at invaders.

We wandered into the centre of Skipton, huddled beneath the castle walls, and checked out an intriguing exhibition in the town hall.

Down With Gravity, running until May 11, is a series of ingenious models with moving parts by kinetic artist David Williams. They include Queue 1 And 2, sending ping-pong balls up a series of ramps before pointlessly doing it all over again and a wacky Meccano structure featuring ballbearings rolling around what looked like a mini rollercoaster.

Upstairs we visited the delightful Craven Museum, where the first thing we saw was a hippopotamus skull. "Is it a dinosaur?" whispered Jack, still wide-eyed from the dungeon. The museum offers a journey through Craven's history, from a medieval shoe and Roman perfume bottles to a hand-operated lathe, Victorian dresses and a 1950s gas cooker. Some of the museum is interactive; the children enjoyed brushing sand off bits of glass and pot on a mini archaeological site.

We ended our trip with lunch in Hemingways, a pleasant tea-room in Craven Court. "I bet they didn't get that in the dungeon," I told Jack, as he tucked into chicken and chips.

Skipton has come a long way since its turbulent past.

• Skipton Castle is open daily from 10am (Sundays from 12noon).
  
  

• Admission costs £5.80 (adults), £5.20 (over 60s and students) and £3.20 (under 18s). Under-fives go free.
  
  

• How to get there: Take the A650, past Keighley, to Skipton and follow signs for the castle. Trains run from Forster Square railway station to Skipton.
  
  

• For more information ring (01756) 792442 or visit skiptoncastle.co.uk
  
  
• Craven Museum and Gallery is open all year round. For details ring (01756) 706407 or visit cravendc.gov.uk
  
  

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