Located in Devon, Castle Drogo is the last castle to be built in England. Construction began in the early 1900's and Castle Drogo was finally completed in 1930. We stopped by for a short visit on our drive home from our stay in Cornwall. 

We started our visit with a light snack in the cafe. Scones for the adults and ice cream for Felix. There is no better way to get a little kid pumped to visit a historical landmark, than to pile on the sugar.

The castle is located a short walk from the visitors center and cafe. We took a scenic path through the woods with amazing views of the Teign Valley. The skies were cloudy and it was a drizzly day in late August.

Dan took some beautiful panoramic shots during our walk.

We came across wind chimes made of kitchen tools that bumped softly in the light breeze.

When we reached Castle Drago, we saw that it was covered in scaffolding. The castle is undergoing renovations to make the granite structure watertight and it will be under construction until 2017.  When we visited, the drawbridge was down, which according to the employees, was a very rare occasion. One man had worked at the castle for over twenty years and had never seen it down. 

We took a self-guided tour of the castle. Many of the rooms had their artifacts boxed up due to the renovation. In lieu of the real thing, there were pictures posted and videos of what the room normally looks like, with all of the furniture and objects in their proper place.

We did a speedy tour through Castle Drago, so that Felix wouldn't get bored. I think that he enjoyed himself. It's hard to get bored when around each corner there is something new to see. There were very few tourists and it felt like we had the castle to ourselves. In several of the rooms, there were interactive components for the kids, to keep them engaged in learning about Castle Drago. The employees were great about pointing out things to Felix and keeping him interested. 

Here are some interior pictures of our whirlwind visit. 

When we finished touring the interiors, we walked around the construction and found a stunning garden. 

My favorite part of the garden was this little house with its own miniature garden. Isn't it super cute? 

And finally, we have the "Plant of the Month".

I'd love to return to Castle Drogo after the restoration to see what we missed. It's lovely castle located on even lovelier grounds.