A Castle Guide got us on our way and explained the history of the various buildings and which King made the changes and the reasoning behind them.  We were soon back to 1066 and it was a very informative history lesson.

At this vantage point St.George's Chapel is on the right whilst the Knights houses are on the left.  The King paid ransomes to get those Knights captured in France back to this country and he built the houses to accommodate them pending their families sending him the money to get them back where they belonged.

The Royal Standard was not in view on the familiar Tower as the Queen was at Balmoral.  Whenever she is in residence the Standard is flown from that flagpole.

We all had audio headsets and could select the appropriate words to describe wherever we were.

Each area and the State Rooms had a number which you keyed in to your recorder and got the relevant story.

Our President, Stan Homer, can be seen, bottom left, complete with his headphones.

Some of the Castle management staff live within the complex and this ancient moat has been converted into a garden in front of one of the homes.

Our Guide told us many things about the various buildings and pointed out the different brickwork in the building shown.  One part being built in a different century to the other.

The State Rooms were magnificent and we saw the area restored after the fire in recent times.

Photography was not allowed anywhere indoors.

The Duke of Edinburgh celebrates his 90th birthday this year and much of the memorabilia on display was associated with him. Many of the presents received on his official visits were on display with the appropriate description posted nearby.

The Castle with all its buildings and grounds is a big place for a walkabout but as you can see, September 15th 2011 was a lovely day for it.

This shows the walk down to the exit with St. George's Chapel on the left: the Tower in the background and the Knight's houses on the right.

Having come out of the exit gate, seen in the background, there were plenty of places for refreshment and with the good weather the street was being put to good use.

Suitably refreshed we were on our way back to Bridgwater by 5 p.m.