The Castles of My Childhood and Irish Dreams

When I was a child my family would visit Castles. I'm not sure why but driving to Castles and historical sites happened to be one thing I loved and still love to this day. I lived in Yorkshire as a child and remember my experiences of visiting historic sites with fondness. It's a subject I've never shared on The Inspiration Edit before.

The one Castle I fondly remember driving to with my parents was Conisbrough Castle in Doncaster. This is a medieval fortification built in South Yorkshire. Built in the 11th Century by William de Warenne, The Earl of Surrey, Conisbrough Castle is one place I enjoyed exploring with my parents and siblings. In fact around 20 years after visiting Conisbrough Castle, I discovered that my own ancestors on my dad's side of the family tree lived next to the Conisbrough Castle. I was living in New Zealand at the time and it was great to know I had visited the area where my ancestors lived.

I moved to New Zealand with my parents at the age of 14. The very first place my great aunty drove us to was a historical site in Auckland called Mt Maungakeikei which translates in English to One Tree Hill.  Mt Maungakeikei is a hill and the remains of a Maori fortification known as a Pa. A Pa is the New Zealand version of a castle or fortification. There were no bricks but the hill has steep sides and you can see where the palisades once stood to protect the Maori back in the 1700's.

One Tree Hill is a place I love and somewhere I visited repeatedly in my youth. I recall going on a treasure hunt, climbing in the mountain and visited the tree at the top of the hill. When I was around 18 years old the tree was chopped down and the place is now often referred to as no tree hill. When I visit New Zealand with my family in the future, One Tree Hill is the first site seeing destination I will visit. I even had driving lessons in the grounds of one tree hill. It is a beautiful place to drive around.

Since returning to live in the UK, 8 years ago, I have travelled a little and visited more historical sites. I loved visiting the city of Brugge and the Medieval Belfry or Tower of Brugge. Market Square in the city is beautiful and the whole city has a wonderful historical feel to it.

Since getting Adrenal Insufficiency in 2013, the opportunities to explore historical sites and go on road trips has been hampered somewhat however I do have a few sites in mind that I would love to visit in the future. I would like to visit the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy and I'd love to go on a road trip through Europe visiting castles and other historical sites.

I have never been to Ireland but since building a friendship with my Irish friend Becky from Cuddle Fairy, I've seen some of the Irish road trips she has been on with her family and the Irish country looks stunning. I have Irish Ancestors, who travelled to New Zealand from Ireland a few hundred years ago and I'd love to visit the areas of my Irish roots, to do family history research and visit historical sites.

I would love to visit Dublin Castle and go to the small village of Meigh near Slieve Gullion in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. My grandfather Martin Meigh had ancestors from Ireland, Thomas Meigh and Mary Keogh and It's a dream of mine to go to Ireland and hopefully discover more about our Irish family tree.

It would be a dream for me to go on an Irish road trip visiting historical sites. We have a good car and would just have to catch a Ferry across the Irish Sea. I would most likely enjoy staying in different hotels whilst we drive from place to place. The one place I really want to visit more than anywhere in Ireland is the Rock Of Cashel in Tipperary which is between Dublin and Cork.

Just thinking about travelling and visiting some beautiful and historical sites gets me excited. I really would love to go on a road trip in 2018. I hope we get the chance. Have you been on a road trip and would you like to? What place do you want to visit?

Angela Xx