Alnwick Castle

 Alnwick Castle is on the Northumberland coast north of Newcastle. I have been there several times, but we always seem to arrive in the late afternoon, so I hadn't been around it before today.

The first castle was built just after the Conquest in 1096 and was captured by the Scots under David I. But it was strengthened when the Percy family took it in 1305, turning Alnwick into a major fortress along the Anglo-Scottish border. The family still lives there; the Duke of Northumberland today, and it is the second-largest lived-in castle in England. Not that they are living in a medieval castle. The interior was modernised in the 19th century. The state rooms are superb (sadly no photos allowed), with a fine collection of paintings and a library with 15,000 books. I like to point this out to my wife!

If it looks familiar, it was a filming location for Harry Potter. I fell asleep during two films when taking my daughter, so I don't remember!

Inside the castle is a small regimental museum of the Northumberland Fusiliers.

And I can usually find a Balkan link in the museums I visit. In this case, there is a 76mm field gun outside, captured from the Bosnian Croats when the regiment was on peacekeeping duties.

The castle has another small room dedicated to the Percy Volunteers, a militia regiment raised to defend the coast during the Napoleonic Wars. Green jackets as well.

The castle also has a gun terrace with artillery.

A very fine castle to visit, with lots of activities. I passed on the Quidditch, but was tempted by the archery. There was also a medieval camp.

The town has an excellent second-hand book store, Bartters Books, in the old station. 

I am staying over near Newcastle tonight, before the football in Sunderland tomorrow, so I stopped off for some tea in Warkworth (another Percy castle), which I have been around. A decent game of cricket was going on just in front.

I am planning a return visit to the Sunderland Air Museum before the game tomorrow afternoon, and a battlefield visit, which I am planning for next week's midweek Scourge of Princes game. The Battle of Newburn Ford was fought in 1640 during the Second Bishops' War. The anniversary was yesterday. It was a rather uneven struggle and a rare Scots victory during the various wars of the period. The Scots even captured Newcastle afterwards.

Spanish galleons

 A rare treat this week in terms of museums, when the Galeón Andalucía visited the Port of Ayr. This replica Spanish galleon, run by the not-for-profit organisation Nao Victoria Foundation, was built in 2009 and is manned by Spanish Navy cadets.

The Spanish galleon was a large sailing ship used by Spain during the 17th century for trade, exploration, and warfare. Built mainly from strong oak, galleons had several masts, large square sails, and high raised decks at the front and back. They were designed to carry valuable cargo such as gold, silver, spices, and other goods between Spain and its colonies. Galleons were also heavily armed to protect themselves from pirates and enemy ships. These ships played an important role in the Spanish Empire and were a key part of Spain’s naval power during the 17th century.

The ship carries a fine collection of cannons, with an explanation of the different types and the cannonballs they fired.

I was surprised by how many crew and passengers it could hold. It could hold 150 people, including 60 crew, along with animals and food to feed them. That averages 1.5 m² per person. That's pretty crowded, unless you were the captain who had decent quarters.

The ship is an excellent floating museum and has received good reviews from everyone who has visited. I didn't think I had used galleons on the wargames table, but then I remembered a box I recently moved that has some rather battered small-scale galleon models. I can't remember why I got them, but I suspect it was back in DBR days when you had smaller-scale ships on the table.

Northern Serbia

I left Valjevo to spend the last couple of days in northern Serbia. Before leaving, I spent the morning at the National Museum Valjevo, which, unsurprisingly, focuses on WW1, given that the city played a central role in the early Austrian offensives.

This is General Živojin Mišić's office, and there is a fine modern statue of him in the city centre. He commanded the First Serbian army in the Battle of Kolubara, an astonishing Serbian victory when they were on the last-ditch defensive line. 

The museum also remembers the Scottish Women's Hospital, based in the town. 

I drove around the Kolubara battlefield on my way north. Not a lot to see unless you count the bridge over the river that was used in the film Kelly's Heroes. You would not drive a tank over it today!

Next was Petrovaradin, the largest Vauban-style fortress in the Balkans and the site of Prince Eugene's victory over the Ottomans in 1716. We did this as a display game at Claymore in 2006, and still have both armies. There have been some improvements since my last visit, particularly at the museum, but there must be many tunnels below to explore.

I spent today in Belgrade. I have been several times, but will never tire of the Kalemegdan fortress and the military museum.

The museum itself is excellent, covering all of Serbia's military history.  It is supplemented by an astonishing collection of tanks and artillery outside. The pre-war Yugoslav army had some obscure weaponry, to which you can add all the types the Axis brought to the Balkans. 

Not many Polish tankettes around

There must be around 100 pieces of artillery from early bombards to the modern period. I'll put more on the website, but the collection is outstanding.

105mm Horska Houfnice

75/27 Deport

Breda 20mm

After browsing the bookshops, I went to the National Museum, which was under refurbishment on my last visit.

A very useful section on the early Serbian states for a current project, and some useful historical paintings.

This is either poorly proportioned, or this is a fat Hussar on a horse too small for him!

My only disappointment was not visiting the CWGC cemetery, which closes at 4pm. They don't usually close, but I suspect they are worried about graffiti and the like.

PS.

I did get into the cemetery the following morning on my way to the airport. There is a code for the padlock on the GWGC website. The cemetery is immaculate, as they usually are. 481 soldiers, sailors and aircrew are buried here. 355 from the UK, but others from the Commonwealth and other allies, including Poland. Most are aircrew shot down over Yugoslavia, but they include 77 soldiers and 56 sailors killed in raiding operations on the Dalmatian coast.

Polish aircrew

My local regiment, the Highland Light Infantry, was the defence battalion on Vis.

Užice

 After an overnight stay in Valjavo in Western Serbia, I drove south through the mountains to Užice, a city about 90km away. This is terrain hard-fought over in both World Wars and tough going for an attacker. The mountains are not particularly high, similar to the west coast of Scotland, but with very few level routes - zig zags much of the way.

The city is famous as Tito's first partisan base. In 1941, after Nazi occupation, Užice was liberated by the Yugoslav Partisans, who chose it as the capital of the Republic of Užice. It didn't last long after facing a multi-pronged Axis attack. The partisans delayed the attack for long enough for the main force to escape to Bosnia.

The National Museum in the city has a wide range of exhibits covering this period, and they have opened some of the caves used to manufacture arms and ammunition, including 2.7 million rifle bullets. There is also a rare statue of Tito.

A French Hotchkiss tank was captured from the Germans, who used a lot of them in the Balkans.

The city was part of an early Serbian state after the Slavs infiltrated the Balkans in the 6th century. Nikola Altomanović built the stone tower, while the rest of the fortified complex was most likely made of wood. The fortress remained Serbian until 1459, when it was conquered by the Ottomans, who developed it; the crenellations in the reconstructed upper town date to that period. The Austrians gained the fortress in the early 18th century, but lost it to the Ottomans in 1738.

The best view is from the river below. However, you can drive up and visit the castle, just don't expect Mrs Google to get the route correct. She took me all around the narrow residential streets. A very knowledgeable guide greeted the weary travellers. They have done an excellent job with the reconstruction and hope to do more with the lower town.

This is the view from the river, and it's stunning.

And this is from a viewing position at the base of the upper town.

The main tower

After that, I decided to go back to Valjavo on a different route, which took me past the partisan memorial at Kadinjača. On 29 November 1941, the Battle of Kadinjača was fought here. A workers' battalion fought and died against the German assault on the Republic of Užice. The memorial is huge with great views, but sadly, the museum was closed. If I understood the notice, it was due to a contaminated water supply.

The route back runs along the Bosnian border, where the main Austrian attack came from in 1914. I'll leave you with a photo near the border that gives a good impression of the terrain. Over those distant mountains lies Srebrenica, a reminder of a more recent conflict in these hills.