Doctor Who Does Caerphilly Castle

 After me and my partner had arrived in Cardiff ahead of the Doctor Who Experience back in July, we headed to Caerphilly to have a wonder around the castle and to spot some DW locations. We took a train from Cardiff Central which only cost a couple of pounds for a return as we both have student railcards.

 Once arriving in Caerphilly, if you are interested in heading to the castle, you take a right turn out of the train station and head straight down the High Street. The road bears right slightly, and to your left you will have a great sight of the castle.

 As it is officially the second biggest castle in Britain (after Windsor) there is a lot to explore both in and around the site. The heritage centre on arrival charge just a small fee to enter. An adult can expect to pay £4.00, but as a Student and a holder of a NUS card I paid a slightly discounted price of £3.60, and this is the same for children. A family ticket is priced around £11.60 altogether. More details on ticket prices, opening times and facilities, here: http://cadw.wales.gov.uk/daysout/caerphilly-castle/?lang=en the centre is also home to a small sovenior shop – so it’s worth having a nose!

We entered the site and had a look around. You can explore virtually everywhere, and there are information boards located within some of the rooms displaying a lot of the castles history. I will warn you that even at 21 years of age I did find it difficult to go up and down some of the tower stairs as they were very slippery and there is only a small rail to help you on your way, so those less-confident on their feet may need extra assistance.

IMAGE: Doctor Who Confidential, BBC Three

 One of my favourite rooms was the Great Hall. Decorated with a long table and chairs along with medieval shields, the room really does look spectacular. The stained glass windows allow light to seep in elegantly and allow for some great pictures. I recognised whilst in the room that this was shown in Doctor Who Confidential as the cast and crews base when filming at the site.

  Whilst steering ourselves round the castle we spotted both the place where the Tardis lands and spots from the opening scenes in ‘The Rebel Flesh’/’The Almost People’, the long corridor from ‘Vampires of Venice’ (which I coincidentally ran down myself and into a big puddle, splashing muddy water up myself) and more spots used in Confidential. I have included some of the pictures below.

IMAGE: BBC - 'Vampires in Venice' and 'The Almost People'

IMAGE: BBC - 'The Rebel Flesh'

IMAGE: BBC - 'The Rebel Flesh'

 Many Thanks to the former BBC Three programme Doctor Who Confidential and the Doctor Who Locations website (http://www.doctorwholocations.net/) for a lot of information on the site and for providing images/footage of the castle itself.

All in all it was a brilliant way to start our Doctor Who break, the castle and its surroundings are stunning and I’m so glad the area has been left untouched to preserve its beauty. If you have any queries/questions at all about anything in this post, drop me a comment or contact me via email – pluckykelly@gmail.com

I hope you’re enjoying Series 7 as much as I am – seriously can’t wait until Saturday for Episode 2! The crew were spotted filming at Caerphilly a few months ago so I'm sure we will see the castle interior or exterior popping up again sometime this series! *spoilers*

If you missed my posts on the Doctor Who Experience Opening Day or Leadworth Hospital from the Eleventh Hour find them here: http://pluckykelly.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/doctor-who-experience-opening-day.html and here: http://pluckykelly.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/leadworth-hospital-eleventh-hour.html 

Thanks for Reading 

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Return of Doctor Who - Eggs, Cupcakes and the Asylum

 Us Doctor Who fans who watched Saturdays episode ‘Asylum of the Daleks’ will know that to make a soufflé you need... eggs.

 So what else can you make with eggs? Well, when you’re an avid fan like me and my partner... you make Doctor Who themed cupcakes- I mean seriously… what else?!

We chose Saturday to bake our cakes as we thought it appropriate to enjoy and indulge in them whilst watching the new episode… and they were delicious! We paid tribute to 'new who', from the 9th to the 11th doctors. 

Ingredients:

(Sainsburys, £1.89 each)

6oz - Self Raising Flour

6oz - Soft Margarine

6oz - Caster Sugar

3eggs

Icing sugar

3 tubes of decorative icing in Red, Blue and Black 

Method:

·         Oven on 200/6, put cupcake cases in tin

·         Put all ingredients into mixing bowl and beat well with a wooden spoon.

·         Divide the mixture between 12-18 cake cases.

·         Bake for around 20 minutes.

·         Put icing sugar into mixing bowl; gradually adding cold water to make the icing.

·         Once cakes are cool, add icing and decorate.

 The final result:

I know they're not perfect, but I was impressed with our efforts! Mine are the cakes in the first image :-) 

Luke and myself posing with our favourite cakes and Doctor Who tees ;) -

The Asylum - *SPOILERS*

So what did you think of the Series 7 opener? Well, wow, what an explosive start to the series! In my opinion, it was probably one of the best Matt Smith episodes I’ve ever watched, and that’s saying something! From start to finish through every detail, every image and every inch of narrative I was completely hooked.

I also thought Jenna’s early appearance was a brilliant addition. Her performance was outstanding as she captured and projected a range of different emotions to the viewers throughout and during the final twist. Definitely a companion to look forward to and *remember*! Karen and Arthur were on top form playing Amy and Rory - It was refreshing to see their relationship in a completely different circumstance to what we are used to. And Matt Smith was as quick witted and charismatic as always - I really can't wait to see Jenna and Matt bounce off each others sentences when playing alongside later on in the series - I think it will be very interesting to watch. 

Credit to the writers for a fantastic storyline, I can’t wait for the series to continue!

Jenna Louise Coleman - Credit: BBC

Next up: “Dinosaurs on a Spaceship” - BBC One, 7.35pm Saturday 8^th September 2012.

Out of this world:-

I celebrated with new Tardis/Universe inspired nails...

Barry M - Base-coat and Topcoat.
Barry M - Cobalt Blue
Barry M - Silver Multi-Glitter

...and Alfie celebrated with his Sonic Screwdriver...

You can watch Asylum of the Daleks now on BBC iplayer - http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/

Thanks for Reading

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