Castle Reviews: Bishop Castle

So this might be one of the strangest places you’ll ever go.

There was this guy named Jim Bishop who had a few acres of land he bought for $1,250 in the mountains of Colorado, just outside Pueblo. He obtained a permit, and decided to build his own castle there.

Jim built a castle. BY HAND!! He built an entire castle all by himself complete with stained glass windows, a moat, and a fire-breathing dragon. As his website says, “It is Jim, and only Jim, who has built the castle.” Way to go, Jim! Fer chrissakes!

And if you didn’t know who built it, Jim will be standing outside of Bishop Castle and tell you himself. He might also tell you that he’s the only true royalty, because he is the only person who’s actually built his own castle, and that’s where the power lies. It kind of has a nice ring to it. I like that.

Now, down to the nitty-gritty: do NOT wear a skirt when visiting Bishop’s Castle, because touring the castle involves climbing grated metal stairs and walking around really-high-up grated metal bridges which allow everyone to see your undergarments. But I doubt anyone noticed anything, since climbing around that castle was one of the most dizzying experiences of my life. It was precarious and a little bit scary, not gonna lie!

In an awesome way.

There wasn’t any furniture in Bishop Castle – no one actually lives there, which leads me to wonder if that isn’t some valuable space to let homeless people crash, or maybe give to Donnybrook? You know, just an idea to throw out there…

Although you might not want to live there, because it’s a little eerie how it sways in the wind, especially when you’re up high. I’m not dissing Jim’s craftsmanship, I’m just saying that it IS a HOMEMADE castle, so it’s gonna be a little precarious to climb around at times. Especially when we climbed that swaying bridge to nowhere, or when Father Guido was showing off by hanging off the tower like it was monkey bars.

But it’s a really fun place to visit, especially if you like climbing around really high-up places with no guard rails and yelling at one another from different towers. Donnybrook is well-practiced in both areas.

At any rate, this is quite the amazing place to see, and most people I tell don’t even know about it even though it’s a pretty short drive from Denver. Click on the pictures to view the gallery at the top of this post, and if you want more pictures check out my Flickr photostream. And go to 1529 Claremont Ave.,Pueblo, Colorado, 81004 (during daylight hours – I’m guessing exiled homeless kings crash there at night). Admission is free, but I think you should donate a dollar or two to the most ambitious guy named Jim in the world.