PODCASTLES

This month we are staying very close to home, and looking at the county we were raised in... Essex! We are starting with Colchester Castle, and given that it's foundations are built from a Roman Temple, it's safe to say we have a lot of ground to cover! Make sure to let us know what you think of this week's episode by dropping us a message on twitter or instagram, and leaving a review! We'd like to also say a big thank you to Ben Paites, Collections and Learning Curator at Colchester Museums, for his advice and contributions! See you next week! N&G x

It's the last Friday of the month, which means it's also theme time! As we wrap out the first instalment of Northumberland, we are looking at Anglo Scottish Relations, and specifically, the first Scottish Wars of Independence. Make sure to let us know what you think of this episode, either by rating and reviewing, or by dropping us a message on socials. You can even email us at podcastlespodcast@gmail.com! See you next week for a brand new County- where do you think we will be heading? N&G

Despite this month's selection box being just layer one of several, there are plenty of castles to pack in... who knew so many would have names beginning with A or B?! From Aydon to Bywell, this episode gives us a great insight into the importance of castles in counties far from the capital, particularly when they lie near the boarder! With lots of back and forth, and moving of country perimeters, there's a lot to cover... so strap in for a whistle stop tour! As always, we would love to hear your thoughts, so please do rate and review, or drop us a message on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. And of course, make sure you're subscribed to be updated with every new episode! N&G

For week two of our Northumberland study we are moving on to Bamburgh. With a history that dates back over 1400 years, this stunning castle sits on the Northumberland coastline, and has many fascinating stories, from the capture of David II of Scotland after the Battle Nevilles Cross, to it's purchase by Victorian industrialist William Armstrong. Arthurian legend even has it that the castle was home to Sir Lancelot! As always, please let us know your thoughts with a rate and review, or by finding us on twitter and instagram, and of course, subscribe to get every future episode delivered straight into your podcast feed! We hope you have a great weekend, and we will see you next week for the Northumberland Selection Box (well...layer 1 at least!) G&N x

And we are back with season 2! This season we are kicking off with Northumberland... well... Northumberland part 1. There are far too many castles in this county to cover in a month, so this time we are just focusing on the A's and B's! To start us off, we have Alnwick - a castle with almost a thousand years of history, which has been home to many Earls (and then Dukes) of Northumberland, and seen many a battle. As always, please do rate, review and subscribe! You can also let us know what you thought of the episode by finding us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, or by emailing podcastlespodcast@gmail.com. See you next week!

So we are here... the final episode of season one. For our Dorset theme , we are discussing strategies used in castle attacks and sieges, to prove that despite what the last few episodes may have suggested, not all plans involved fancy dress! A castle invasion could include anything from underground swords fights, to biological warfare, or even simply sitting around and waiting, so check out this episode for a crash course in castle attacking... To every one of you, whether you recently discovered podcastles, or have been here since day one, thank you so much for all your support. We will be back before you know it with season 2, which is already underway. Make sure to subscribe on your favourite streaming platform and on social media to keep up to date, and be first to know when the new season drops. See you very soon! N&G x

Today we look at Lulworth and Sherborne castles, as well as Maiden's castle, which isn't a castle at all actually, but it was super interesting and had castle in the name so hey... we allowed it! As always please rate, review and subscribe, and we will see you next week for the season finale! N&G

Today we are continuing on our virtual tour round Dorset castles by looking at Corfe Castle, which, as described by Nikita, is ‘practically made out of ghosts and skeletons'! Don't forget to rate, review, and subscribe and we will see you again very soon! x

New Year, New county. That's the saying... right? This episode we move on to the county of Dorset, starting with two gorgeous castles- Highcliffe, and Portland. Very different periods and very different purposes- equal amount of ghosts and skeletons! Enjoy!

Victoria and Albert spent all twenty of the Christmases they shared at Windsor castle in Berkshire. In this episode, we run through some of the many holiday traditions that they bestowed upon us! Merry Christmas, and we will see you in the new year for a new county! As always, please rate, review and subscribe

It's time to wrap up the smaller castles of Berkshire, and this week is the biggest selection box we've ever done, with 8 castles to cover! As always please rate, review and subscribe!

This week we are moving on to Berkshire, which can only mean one thing... Windsor Castle! As a pretty key royal residence since its foundation by William the Conqueror, theres even more to get through in this episode than normal- join us in a whistle stop tour of almost every monarch and what they got up to at Windsor! As always, please rate, review and subscribe!

As we come to the end of a month of Oxfordshire castles, its times for another theme! This time, we are talking about one of Nikita's favourite periods- the Anarchy! Popping up throughout all of our Oxfordshire castles, the Anarchy has been super important this month, so we thought we'd give you a little summary of the full story for context. As the name suggests, the Anarchy was a tad chaotic- join us as we zip through the key castles of the story! As always, please rate, review and subscribe! See you all soon! N & G x

After looking at the main castles of a county, it can be good to dip in to what history is available for some smaller ones in the area, and Oxfordshire definitely has some worthy candidates! This episode looks at a number of castles in Oxfordshire, including Broughton, Deddington, Shirburn, Hanwell, and Grey's Court. Between them, they cover almost one thousand years of ghosts and skeletons- with some names you should recognise if you're up to date on your Podcastles! Normally we only include castles that still exist today, but Oxfordshire has so many castles that are now just ruins and mounds that we had to make a few exceptions. As always, please rate, review and subscribe!

Week 2 of Oxfordshire today and we are looking at our first Palace! As always, please like, rate and subscribe!

This month, we are moving on to our second county- Oxfordshire! We are kicking off with an episode on Oxford castle, which was particularly important during the Anarchy of 1135-1153, as well during the Civil war in the 1640s. Having served as a prison for a long time, Oxford castle has some great Ghosts and Skeletons- particularly fitting for Halloween! As always, if you liked this episode, don't forget to rate, review and subscribe.

It's time for our first themes episode! At the end of every county, we will be taking a theme that came up lots, and discussing in on a national scale. As we come to the end of Warwickshire, we decided to look at Castles and King making, and how the nobility are able to influence, and sometimes even replace, the monarch. If you have any theme topics you'd like us to cover in the future, let us know in the comments, on social media, or by emailing podcastlespodcast@gmail.com! As always, if you liked this episode, please rate, review and subscribe- it really helps us out!

Well, here we are. Podcastles episode number three. Our first collection of castles. We looked at four castles - Dudley Castle, Astley Castle, Baddesley Clinton (‘castle' being a very loose term to describe this one but, hey, it's crenellated and it has a moat, so we went for it), and Maxstoke Castle. Enjoy!

IT'S TIME! We are so excited to be back with another Podcastles episode, particularly because this time, we're talking about Kenilworth castle, one of our all-time faves.

And we're off! The first county we have set our sites on is Warwickshire, and we are kicking off with the obvious choice… Warwick Castle!

Join sisters Nikita and Georgia as they explore English History through castles. County by county, hear about the amazing stories each castle hosted and assisted, and discover the ghosts and skeletons that can be found deep within... Subscribe now and follow us on social media to be updated when the first episode goes live!