Every Castle Needs a Queen

Yes, doesn't it? To that end, HRH QE2 and I made our first trip to the Loveland Castle last week. Yes, Loveland has a castle: Chateau Roche. A man named Harry Andrews spent his life building the castle - by hand - on the banks of the Little Miami River. According to the castle's website, Harry had an IQ of 181. In the early 1920s, Harry ran a small Boy Scout troop that met for activities and camping along the banks of the river. Harry decided he would start a new Boy Scout-ish organization that would sweep the nation: Knights of the Golden Trail. And so the knights needed a castle. The movement never really took off, but Harry's KOGT still maintain the castle and give tours. I didn't really get the full story from the knight at the front desk; I'm not sure how you get to be a knight these days, but I do know that the only thing the knights really do now is maintain the castle. The knights all seem to be middle-aged.

Harry actually lived in the castle, in a tiny room on the second floor. Apparently he also had a secret room that was discovered some years ago. From time to time, other knights have lived in the castle, but the knight we spoke with said that has never really worked out. Apparently, the castle does have it's own ghost...

Anyway, it was a gorgeous sunny day, and Ellie and I had quite a wonderful time exploring the rooms and gardens. We met tourists from as far away as Kentucky and Florida. We even saw pictures of weddings the castle has hosted, as well as video clips of Harry building the castle through the years. A truly Loveland afternoon. For those of you who need to know more about Loveland's Chateau Roche, you can visit its website: http://www.lovelandcastle.com