Autumn Colours Around Morpeth Castle

Morpeth Castle began life as the gatehouse to a much larger medieval fortress, built in the mid-1300s by the De Merlay family to protect this strategic crossing point over the River Wansbeck. Although the main castle buildings have long since vanished, the gatehouse survived and later found a new life as a gentleman’s residence. Its battlements, arched entrance, and thick stonework are all reminders of its defensive origins, but its peaceful setting today couldn’t be further from those turbulent medieval years.

Capturing it from above in autumn shows a different side to the castle — one where the surviving tower is framed by gold, amber, and rust-red leaves. The town of Morpeth spreads out in the distance, but the castle feels cocooned in its own pocket of calm. It’s a brilliant example of how even the fragments of Northumberland’s past still hold presence and character, especially when the landscape decides to put on a bit of a show.