Bamburgh Castle silhouette sunset beach, Northumberland, England

A castle in profile

This island's characteristically cloudy skies don't usually let much sun through, but when they do, spectacular silhouettes can be seen against the crimson horizon. From its promontory post on England's northeast coast, Bamburgh Castle gets a sneak preview of the sunrise over Britain each morning. This long-ago domain of Sir Lancelot—or so say the legends—has seen many, many of them. The castle itself has only stood since the 12th century, but it sits on a spot first settled about 12,000 years back.