Castles, forts, hillforts, fortifications and other similar attractions and places in Britain. They may have been primarily built for defence – but may also be symbols of power.
What’s at the end of the wall? The wall’s end? Walls – solid boundaries designed to keep people in – or out. There are famous walls, like the Berlin Wall, the Great Wall of China, the fantasy Wall in Game of Thrones or even the one that Shirley Valentine talks to (“Hello, wall.”). In the
Segedunum – the end of the Wall Read More »
North East England
Castell Henllys (‘Castle of the old court’) is just off the A487, between Newport and Cardigan and is a recreated ancient Celtic hill-fort. Park your chariot (or time machine) in the maes parcio (car park) and carefully follow the path through woodland by the pretty Nant (river) Duad. Here there be bats, otters and more
Chirk is a striking place, a wonderfully preserved late 13th century fortress on the Welsh/English border and home to the Myddelton family from 1595 for the next 400 years. Kids from 8 to 80 will enjoy the armoury displays and hands-on stuff in the dungeons, with the atmosphere being enhanced by a couple of time-travellers
Scattered about Britain (and, presumably, the world) are a number of sites, some open to the public, which had a role in the Cold War. The “secret nuclear bunker” at Kelvedon Hatch in Essex was built in the early 1950s as an operations centre for a huge radar and command/control project known as ROTOR. It
Kelvedon Hatch Secret Nuclear Bunker Read More »
East of England
Here is a fortress on the edge. Caerlaverock is a mighty Scottish stronghold on the banks of the Solway Firth, in the border battleground of the two old protagonists, Scotland and England, and which finally came to grief in the civil war of the 17th century. On first seeing a picture of this most photogenic
Caerlaverock Castle Read More »
Scotland
There’s a ruined castle in the valley bottom, beyond the grand, Victorian, house. A round, machiolated, tower peeks through multi-coloured shrubs and trees. It draws the eye through the garden, overwhelming the desire to linger amongst the flowers. Closer in, down the hill, and the heady scent from rhododendrons and azaleas is almost overpowering. The
A visit to Scotney Castle Read More »
South East
People are walking their dogs around the ancient walls of Portchester Castle. A cricket match is taking place on the green. Some scruffy kids run up and down the ditch outside, whooping. Anglers drape their lines optimistically into Portsmouth Harbour and gaze at passing ships with the old Royal Navy dockyard beyond. It’s a peaceful
Portchester Castle Read More »
South East
The Tower of London has been sitting on the north bank of the Thames, watching the tides of a great city ebb and flow, for around a thousand years. The city has grown up around it and it is part of it; it is impossible to imagine London without the Tower. Think of all that
Visit the Tower of London Read More »
London
It’s almost worth the journey to Richmond Castle in Yorkshire, just to get some photos. It was a dubious bonus to meet someone who could have been transported there by aliens, and odd to discover that it had to wait until the 20th century to become really famous. Richmond Castle is a massive fortress built
Good question. You can see for yourself that there’s very little of it left. True, there’s a fine motte, traces of a few fireplaces, site of a kitchen, with an attractive gap-toothed inner curtain wall built mainly of local flint – and a well. But that’s about it – and the massive moats, which would
Why visit Berkhamsted Castle? Read More »
East of England
Toki lost his lands when the Normans came. The new foreign aristocracy following Harold’s defeat at Hastings in 1066 swept aside Anglo-Saxon landowners, and poor Toki was one of the casualties. He was a thegn – which could mean a variety of things – but in any event a man of property in the settlement
The Castle at Castle Acre Read More »
East of England
Robin Hood is one of England’s enduring legendary heroes. Deprived of his rightful inheritance and outlawed, Robert of Locksley (or Loxley) shelters in the King’s forest of Sherwood, where he assumes natural leadership over the vagabonds and other outlaws in hiding there, all victims of medieval England’s harsh laws and brutal penalties for infringement. Robert
In search of Robin Hood Read More »
East Midlands