Mow Cop Castle

Mow Cop Castle

This week I visited Mow Cop Castle in Staffordshire. It is not a very big castle and it is falling apart but the area is really cool because you can still see the mill stones they quarried around the castle sight. There are cool rocks everywhere and there are lots of cliffs that are cool to climb. You do have to be careful though as the mill stone is a bit slippery. Bonnie my dog got stuck on a cliff and she could not get down. There was a cliff that she almost fell off, it was about 10 metres high and was really smooth but I maniged to climb down the bit that was rough and about 8 metres high. Dad and I had to work together to get Bonnie down.

Mow Cop Castle started as a watch tower for the Romans, but this tower has long been gone. The surviving castle was built 1754 years ago by Randle Wilbraham it was made as a summer house but it turned out looking like a castle. The castle was famous for its high quality mill stone that was found around the castle. When people found out about this lots of rich bisuness men wanted to buy the land. There wer lots of disputes over who owned the land and the quarries, and because of this the people who owned the castle let it fall into disrepair. The Castle is now preserved by National Trust.

Here are some links to Mow Cop if you want to learn more

http://www.mowcop.com/mowcophistory.asp

http://www.alsager.com/tour/area/mowcop.htm

Peveril Castle

Peveril Castle
Peveril Castle is in Castleton, on top of a hill over looking the town. People think it is named after William Peveril, but it is not proven that it was. The castle was made in 1080 just after the Normans took over in 1066. It was not a proper castle, just a base for hunting and gathering in the forests and mining in the Peak Caverns (also known as the Devil's Arse) for Blue John. Blue John is a crystal that has only been found in one place in the whole world and that is Castleton.
The only parts of the castle that are still standing are the walls and the main keep, but you can still see the remains of the hall and the houses. The only things that you can not see any more are the bridge and the stables that are on the other side of the bridge.
To me, I am amazed that the castle is still standing despite what it has been through. Even the toilets are still intact but you are not allowed to use them. A lot is not there but to me it is still pretty amazing. Millions of people go to see it each year and what happens if one stupid tourist takes a piece of stone? Soon it will be getting smaller and smaller until there is nothing left. Or what if it gets hit by lightning? This is why I am happy that I have seen it and it is being looked after by English Heritage.

If you have a look at these links you can learn more about Peveril Castle and Blue John

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server.php?show=nav.11598

http://www.bluejohnstone.co.uk/

I think it would be good if you all come for a visit so we could have a look at the castle together. Maybe Sandy can oirganise this as a school trip for us!

I'll blog again soon

Zaq

When winners are losers.

I went to see Manchester United play Bayern Munich in the Champions League with my dad last Wednesday. There were 74,000 people in the crowd and it was really loud. Everyone was singing things like "U N I T E D United are the team for me with a knick knack paddy whack give a dog a bone, Man United football club!" We were standing behind the goals to the right, about 20 rows up. Manchester scored a goal in the first 2 minutes and then again after about 10 mins. They then scored again before half time, but so did Munich.

Manchester United had to win by 3 goals because when they played Munich in Munich the score was 2 - 1. The game ended up 3 - 2 so Munich won the tie played over 2 legs. So Manchester were winners on the night, but lost the two games combined.

I love football and it was really good to see my favourite player Wayne Rooney.He got injured and had to go off. Everybody was chanting "Rooney, Rooney, Rooney" but he still had to go off. If he had stayed on I think Manchester United would have scored more goals.

I look forward to keeping in touch with my new class mates with this blog

Talk to you all soon

Zaq