Calm and On
On 3 May 1950 Alnwick Castle opened its doors to visitors for the first time, and 100 eager tourists queued up to buy a ticket in the first hour. Britain’s second-largest privately inhabited castle (after Windsor), home to the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland, it has come a long way since, with soaring visitor numbers boosted by appearances in the Harry Potter films.
But this year on the 70th anniversary of Alnwick’s opening, the famous gardens lay quietly deserted and the castle’s 150 rooms were eerily empty of visitors. High above the historic battlements a blue NHS flag fluttered from the flagpole.
Alnwick has
