Travel Tip #6: Advice from a Purple Hippo

It is important to be aware of closing times when visiting historic locations.

Exterior ruins of Huntly Castle situated in Aberdeenshire, Scotland

One can easily become enthralled to the point of distraction when visiting fascinating castles.

Arrow loop in Huntly Castle

While this is usualy a good thing, it can lead to disaster if one is not aware of the castle’s closing hour.

They are serious when they say closing time is at 5:30

When a castle closes they lock the two means of entrance and escape that the entire place has to offer.

This bright window may appear to be a way out, but the fall is much too long

You may see what appears to be an exit.

A glimmer of hope

But it never is, you will quickly learn that castles were built as defense structures, making exiting them quite difficult.

These iron bars were easy for me to slip through, but I could not leave my camera crew behind

Once you understand that there is no means of escape, you must phone the local police and inform them that you seem to have gotten yourself locked in the castle and could they please come let you out. When phoning the police it is also helpful to know the name of your prison, which is why Travel Tip #5 is so important.

Waiting, sheepishly

Once you have phoned the police, wait about an hour until they send someone to extract you.