Selby Abbey & Castle Howard

I’ve never been the cultural type of turist. Museums, castles and churches have never had my interest when I’ve been abroad. But yesterday a lot of the international students from York College went on an extremely cultural trip, where we first got to see Selby Abbey and later we visited Castle Howard. I have to say I was really impressed by the castle, and I caught myself thinking “why haven’t I been at castles like this before?”

The Castle Howard was so charming and literally breathtaking. Not only was the castle itself extremely elegant and gorgeous, the enormous park surrounding the castle was also quite a delightful view. At first we walked around the great park (if you can even call it a park… It was huge!) enjoying the warm autumn weather while being delighted by our beautiful surroundings. Thereafter we went inside the castle which was quite a view as well. The thing I really liked about Castle Howard is that there’s a real family living at the castle! Not like many other castles this one is actually occupied and not just a museum which was clear by all the family photos on the walls around the house. Obviously, we weren’t inside the private part of the castle, only the part that were ‘unoccupied’. But still I think it was so cool to be on a castle, where people actually still live.

The nature at Castle Howard was stunning.

Before going to Castle Howard we visited Selby Abbey, which is a big cathedral in the small town called Selby. It was really pretty, but unfortunately it was freezing inside the abbey, so we tried to make the visit quick, before rushing outside to the warmer autumn weather, haha. The abbey reminded me so much of the cathedral at King’s College in Cambridge, which I visited last summer when I was at a summer school. I guess the architecture is typical English, and that’s why it’s so similar.

All in all it was a great weekend and I really enjoyed being cultural, haha! It will for sure not be the last time I visit castles and museums when I’m abroad.

The last bit of this Sunday evening will be spend with my politics and government notes, trying to get a great overview of Margaret Thatcher, David Cameron and One Nation Conservative. I have a ‘pre-exam’ in politics and government tomorrow morning, and since I’m really lost when it comes to English politics, I’ve been working my butt off in order to keep up in the subject… And sometimes I can’t help myself but thinking “what the h*ll am I going to use this for when I get back to Denmark?” but oh well, I guess no knowledge is for no good 😉 enjoy the last of your weekend!