The Forework Gatehouse
Once inside the castle we joined a tour given by a very animated and entertaining tourguide. Unfortunately the group was way too big and I kept ending up on the outer peripherary of it. I heard very little of the commentary and once the group headed inside this gatehouse I ended-up losing contact with the group. I spent the next 45 minutes exploring the castle on my own. The current gatehouse pales in comparison with that of the 16th Century. It was twice as high and featured six towers. The Forework Gatehouse was considered the most strategically important point of the defenses because it faces the Southern side of the castle which is the only direction where an invader could climb toward the castle. The reason this rocky hill sits towering over the countryside is because it was once a volcano.
Great Britain, the dominant industrial and maritime power of the 19th century, played a leading role in developing parliamentary democracy and in advancing literature and science. At its zenith, the British Empire stretched over one-fourth of the ear... ... read more 
