We visited Helmsley Castle after Mount Grace Priory on Monday. The castle's stone structure was begun in the mid-12th century and altered and added to over the centuries by its various owners.
The mid-13th century East Tower still stands proudly.
Built at the same time as the East Tower, the West Tower and Old Hall was re-fitted as a Tudor mansion two hundred years later. Today it houses a small exhibit on the history of the site.
Inside the West Tower.
Enormous fireplace.
Fancy set of keys!
Some of the Tudor decorative pieces remain.
The ruined walls have some beautiful flowers growing all over them!
Not to be outdone, the grass is littered with these small flowers.
A nice site to see, but I'm glad we didn't set our day around it. The town of Helmsley seems quite charming, but unfortunately most of the shops were closed when we were there, either because of the time (it was around 5:00 PM) or some had a "holiday notice" in the window.
Too bad, I would have liked exploring a bit more!
