Author Travel Guide: Prestby in Northumberland, England

Where to Stay

Top picks are the 19th-century Granger Hotel, which combines Victorian grandeur with modern luxury, and the budget-friendly, 18th-century bed and breakfast, The Green Man. Both can be found on the High Street, right in the heart of town.

Must-see Attractions

Prestby boasts two impressive ruins: Nihtscua Castle, high on a rocky hill overlooking the town, and Druid’s Head, the perfect example of a motte-and-bailey stronghold. Just outside of town is the better-preserved Ravenwood Castle. All three are National Trust properties and well worth a visit. Haunted Happenings The locals disagree on which castle is more haunted—Nihtscua or Ravenwood—but the same ghostly figure is said to roam both sites. He was an Anglo-Saxon thane named Aldred, killed by the sword of Sir William l’Orage, Lord Ravenwood, in AD 1101. You’ll get an earful about him and other prominent figures if you take the highly-rated Wary Walking Tour of Haunted Prestby. For the best fish ʼn’ chips in town, go to Something’s Fishy on Raven Lane, just off the High Street. They’ve been in business since 1933. If fried haddock isn’t your thing, try their Cornish pasties. Delish! Walk About If you walk nowhere else in town, visit the High Street. There are many quaint shops, selling souvenirs, gourmet candies, clothing, and more. You’ll see St. Peter’s Church, an 18th-century gem with a number of stunning stained-glass windows. Nearby, the Granger Hotel has an elegant ballroom and a colorful garden off the back terrace. The end of the street is where you’ll start the climb to Nihtscua Castle. Just before it, look to your right and up the hill, and you’ll see Nightshade Manor. The 17th-century mansion isn’t open to the public, but if you like Elizabethan architecture, its mullioned windows and multitude of chimneys are a feast for the eyes.

Return of the Raven Margaret, Lady Ravenwood, is trapped in a loveless marriage and firmly entrenched in the medieval world. Along comes Griffin Nightshade, a historian from the future whose soul resonates with hers. He persuades her to return with him to the 1950s, but heeding her heart means courting danger from a curse that could spell her doom. Haunted by his parent’s sudden deaths, Griffin knows all too well the pain born of love lost. He guards his emotions, but Margaret delves deep and goes straight to the soul. She’s hard to resist…and harder to set free. The heart’s desire and history’s demands don’t always agree. Yet true love is eternal.

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Author Bio
Judith Sterling is an award-winning author whose love of history and passion for the paranormal infuse everything she writes. Whether penning medieval romance (The Novels of Ravenwood) or young adult paranormal fantasy (the Guardians of Erin series), her favorite themes include true love, destiny, time travel, healing, redemption, and finding the hidden magic which exists all around us. She loves to share that magic with readers and whisk them far away from their troubles, particularly to locations in the British Isles.

Her nonfiction books, written under Judith Marshall, have been translated into multiple languages. She has an MA in linguistics and a BA in history, with a minor in British Studies. Born in that sauna called Florida, she craved cooler climes, and once the travel bug bit, she lived in England, Scotland, Sweden, Wisconsin, Virginia, and on the island of Nantucket. She currently lives in Salem, Massachusetts with her husband and their identical twin sons.