With our English Heritage membership about to expire hubby and I went to see two castles we had not previously explored. Although their names look very similar (as are aspects of their history) the way they are pronounced is quite different. Brougham sounds like broom and Brough rhymes with gruff.
We broke our journey at Rheged and had a look around some of the shops there. Brougham castle is just off the A66 beyond the Penrith junction. We found a parking place and took our picnic lunch through the ticket office/museum. We ate it overlooking the river Eamont. (There are more benches and picnic benches farther into the site, but it was convenient for returning our surplus items to the car rather than carrying them round.)
There are history information boards around the site and it is possible to climb up the keep for views of the surrounding area. Hubby climbed to the top, but I decided that the first level was quite high enough. I am not good with heights!
As it was still fairly early in the afternoon, we decided to proceed to Brough Castle, which is also close to the A66, rather than returning home immediately.
Unlike Brougham Castle, entry to Brough castle is free. It was very busy, but I managed to take some photos avoiding the other visitors.
Our journey home took longer than expected due to the volume of traffic on the A66. In spite of that, it was another good day out.
