Noah had his first birthday party invite this weekend at a classmates house in the village of St. Donat's He wanted Hunter to stay with him at the party, so Kelly, Abbie, Preston and I went exploring. We first walked down and checked out St. Donat's church which dates back to the 11 century based on the exterior sign. In some of the pictures you can see St. Donat's castle in the background. There is also a picture of nice victorian stained glass inside the church.
Next we threaded our way down to a somewhat hidden beach below St. Donat's Castle which now houses Atlantic College. It is difficult to find and we only found it after some advice from other parents of children at the birthday party. Since the college is now out for the summer, it was quiet.
St Donats Castle itself is very beautiful. It was actually purchased by William Hearst - the newspaper baren in 1925. He spent a fortune renovating the castle, and supposedly held lavish parties when he was visiting the site. If you have ever been to Hearst Castle on the coast in central California, it had a similar feel - at least the parts we could see. It is only open to the public once a year I believe. A couple shots below of the castle pool area overlooking the sea.
