June 23, 2018 – Greycourt State Park – Massachusetts

Today we visited Greycourt State Park in Methuen, Massachusetts.  This Park is a recreation area that covers 24 acres atop the partially restored ruins of the Charles H. Tenney estate.  Grey Court, which is also referred to as Tenney Castle, was built in 1893.  It was the centerpiece of the Charles H. Tenney estate.  The Tenney family were a successful business family, world known merchants in the business of hats.  The Tenney Castle was later destroyed by fire in 1978.

This Park was not easy to find, but luckily I had done some research ahead of time, and knew exactly how to locate it. We parked at City Hall, and hiked from the Historical Society down the paved road to the park.  It did not take long to locate castle ruins up on the hill.  Many tall trees and green landscape surrounded this spectacular landmark.  The paved trail took us up a small hill, and directly to the ruins.  We strolled through the beautiful architecture, taking many photos.  I was awed by this castle ruins, and enjoyed studying the many architectural features.  There was an old water fountain, lots of holes to peer through and beautiful arches, and pillars.  Standing in the ruins really made me feel like I was on an international journey, almost magical.

Once we had finished wandering the ruins we sauntered past and found some dirt paths.  There were no markings, or directors, but we weaved in and out of the trails.  I found them a bit humdrum, and was disappointed to hear clear sounds of cars and construction.  However, we found some unique trees, and were able to get some always valued exercise.

After we finished at the trails we headed back to the castle ruins for one last visit.  We sat for a bit next to the ruins, where Shadow and Wilma enjoyed their normal rolls, and some time playing together.  We only saw a couple people on our visit, mostly locals walking through the area with their dogs.  It was a fun little spot, and definitely a cool ruin to explore (Rating:  3).