See castles, forts and prisons at the Landmark Trust Open Weekend

[caption id="attachment_992" align="aligncenter" width="940"] The Martello Tower[/caption]

Last year we stayed in a prison and Jess thought it was possibly the best place we had ever visited! The trip to the House of Correction in Lincolnshire was courtesy of the Landmark Trust which “rescues” historical buildings and opens them up to the public. Now they have announced 50 free open days at Landmark properties across England, Scotland and Wales, in order to celebrate their 50th birthday. And the House of Correction is one of them!

This “Golden Weekend” is to take place from 10am to 4pm over 16-17 May and you are all invited to come along to some remarkable properties. Antony Gormley has designed some special sculptures for the occasion and they will be at five of the open landmarks, the Martello Tower in Aldeburgh, Suffolk (which you can see above); Saddell Bay in Mull of Kintyre, Scotland; Lengthsman’s Cottage at Lowsonford, Warwickshire; Lundy Island in the Bristol Channel and Clavell Tower at Kimmeridge Bay, Dorset. The life-sized cast iron sculptures, together entitled LAND, will be Gormley's only solo outdoor installation in the UK in 2015. They will have full public access and be free for everyone to enjoy until May 2016, not just on the Golden Weekend.

[caption id="attachment_993" align="aligncenter" width="960"] The gorgeous House of Correction, where we stayed[/caption]

The Landmark Trust have rescued nearly 200 significant buildings since 1965, and this is a great way to see see some of its forts, castles, prisons, even an old railway station. Those open on the day include Morpeth Castle in Northumberland, Auchinleck House in Ayrshire, an 18th-century country villa and former home of James Boswell, Clytha Castle near Abergavenny, which dates back to 1790 and overlooks the Usk Valley, The Grange, designed and lived in by Augustus Pugin in Ramsgate, Kent and Alton Station in Staffordshire, where the former ticket office is now a bedroom!

There will even be a “Golden Moment” at 3pm on Saturday 16 May, when local musicians will perform a piece of music at all of the 25 open Landmarks.

Full details of all Landmark’s 194 buildings are available on their website

Read about our trip to the House of Correction.