Julia & Darcy's trip: Berkley Castle

As we followed Jacob's mother's ancestry back to some of the kings of England, we decided to make a trip to Berkeley Castle where King Edward II was murdered. We were disappointed to find out that the castle was only open on Sundays, but after a phone call, Darcy arranged us to join a tour group to visit the castle that day. It was well worth the effort! It was the most authentic castle I've been in, and with a private tour we learned so much interesting history. Avery was absolutely perfect during the tour, watching intently, and taking a quick snooze. What a good little traveler!

As we try to take a picture of Avery at each of our stops, she often thinks it's quite entertaining to be held up by daddy. I love the way she looks at him!

Among the many interesting things we learned about the castle...this door (seen above) was brought from a church. It has the twelve apostles carved into it, but if you count, there are only 9. The reason, since the door didn't quite fit, they cut off three of the apostles and have displayed them separately throughout the castle.
Another interesting fact...this castle came under siege during the English Civil War where part of the castle keep was knocked down. The parliamentarians agreed that they wouldn't totally destroy the castle if the Berkeley family kept the hole in the wall as a reminder. This agreement still stands today and you can see the huge hole in the castle keep.