Guided Tour

The Hall of Bright Carvings

Our tour begins on the top floor of the northern wing of the castle, in the Hall of Bright Carvings. Even during the day, this hall is lit by seven huge candelabra, as the only window (at the far end of the hall) is permanently shuttered. In a hammock slung below that window is the slumbering form of the curator, Rottcodd -- please walk quietly to avoid waking him, and try not to stir up to much dust. Rottcodd keeps the carvings meticulously clean, but the dust has to go somewhere. The carvings themselves are, as their name suggests, brightly painted, in colours frequently at odds with the subject. Over here, for example, is the Piebald Shark, a particular favourite of Rottcodd's, and here we have the Emerald Horse.

Tour Start

Ante-room

Other places to visit

• The Hall of Bright Carvings
• Ante-room to the Hall of Bright Carvings
• Stone Quadrangle
• Kitchen Corridor
• Great Kitchen
• Stone Lanes
• Cat Room
• Octagonal Room