Myths and Legends Christmas Kingdom at Bamburgh Castle

A first look at the Myths and Legends Christmas Kingdom at Northumberland's Bamburgh Castle

Transcript

00:00 Hello there, I'm Claire Watson-Armstrong and our family own Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland,

00:05 which is where we are today.

00:08 This is our Christmas kingdom and this year the theme is Enchanted Myths and Legends of

00:14 Northumbria.

00:15 And I was so excited about this.

00:19 It's a theme that really is close to our hearts here at Bamburgh because, as you know, it's

00:25 an iconic castle above the Northumberland coast here.

00:29 So these themes that amazing Charlotte Lloyd Webber, who's the designer who has created

00:35 our Christmas experience, they're all drawn from actual myths and folkology and legends.

00:42 So we've got our incredible selkies, the tale of the seal that slips its skin and becomes

00:49 this beautiful maiden, and that comes from the Farn Islands.

00:53 And then we've got tales of fairy rings and there's all sorts of incredible things that

00:59 you can see all around the castle.

01:00 We're just so excited about it and I am seeing it for the first time.

01:05 I wanted it to be a surprise and it just takes your breath away.

01:09 It's glorious.

01:10 So this is our third year of having the Christmas kingdom here at Bamburgh Castle and we just

01:15 wanted to do something to celebrate the magic of Christmas.

01:19 So each of the staterooms is transformed into this wonderful riot of festivity and drawing

01:27 on this theme of myths and legends of Northumbria.

01:30 So we've got incredible foliage displays, we've got Christmas trees, we've got pieces

01:36 and props that are new this year that have been bespoke made for Bamburgh Castle by an

01:41 incredible sculptor called Mandy Bryson.

01:45 So she uses something called faux taxidermy where she creates these incredibly lifelike

01:52 pieces that you will see and you have to look out for the seal, the selkie seal.

01:58 I think he's my favourite so far.

02:00 But we are open Saturday, November 11th and we run right the way through to January 7th.

02:07 Closed for Christmas Day and Boxing Day but other than that open all day, every day.

02:12 We've also got wonderful Christmas events like our Christmas wreath making, we've got

02:16 concerts, carols but it's just the most breathtaking Christmas.

02:22 Extravaganza, the largest indoor Christmas experience in the region and it's just a

02:27 delight for all ages, it really is.

02:29 And if this won't get you into the Christmas spirit, I don't know what will.

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