Favourite Castle

Lancaster is quite nice but has a interesting history

Edinburgh castle is a shite castle. Its a walled barracks.

Nottingham Castle is also a shit castle. It’s supposed to be all Robin Hood and dastardly sheriff and it’s actually a manor house built in the late 1800’s – admittedly on the site of the famed Norman castle but not remotely castle-like.

On which note, Carcassonne is stunning. It was “Nottingham Castle” in Robin Hood Prince of Thieves.

Caleveloch

Garlies castke

Beeston

Got kicked out of the pub quiz… they asked what famous castle suffered smoke damage in the 80s.

Turns out Roy wasn’t the right answer

St Briavels because I stayed in it on one of my first weekends with the Southern Section CTC.

Blois, a lot learned.

Pau, I visited with in-laws I remember fondly, and I’ve run through the grounds hundreds of times.

Amboise, junior loved the Da Vinci garden.

Castle stalker is a good one

Mad ludwigs castle – I shall attempt again to post a pic

Virtual tour of Castle Stalker

Virtual Tour

Castell Carreg Cennen is really pretty good.

https://images.app.goo.gl/jz1x81Jt8FDmYxwW7

Dunstanburgh is great for the walk from Craster

Beaumaris for being the most advanced concentric castle.

Castle Rushen for being almost all intact.

Caerlaverock for being triangular

Love Charles Fort, but Wales smashes it when it comes to castles. I vote Pembroke

On the subject of castles I heard a podcast with the author of this book about historic buildings and the myths surrounding them. Interesting.

Historic Building Mythbusting by James Wright

Windsor

Bodium

Cary

Mowcop  Castle

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Llanstephan has a lovely setting

It certainly has. I holidayed at Llanstephan a few times with my folks and I loved walking up to the castle and sitting on the remaining wall on the seaward side, it’s just high enough to sit on and have your feet on the grass outside. I used to watch A-10’s doing practice strafing runs on the Pembrey ranges, I could see the smoke from the cannon, then a sound like a sheet of corrugated steel being ripped in half, and on the other side Dylan Thomas’ boat house at Laugharne. I had my first car by that time, a ‘54 split-screen Morris Minor, which I’d drive over to Pendine Sands.

Dunnottar Castle

Local – Clitheroe

British – Dunstanburgh

French – Pierrefonds

Just for something s bit different  this is Grianan of Aileach (aka Greenan Fort) in Co Donegal. It’s my favourite as I could see it from my bedroom window when I was a kid, and we used to mess around on the terraces and climb through the long wall tunnels.

Manorbier is so cute.

Haha, Mow Cop is ace, was my local castle growing up. Favourite proper castle is also local – Beeston Castle. Loved going there on school trips.

Corgarff

Lots of suggestions above to try!

I like Richmond Castle – the view from the top of tower is fantastic.

And the view across the River Swale and beyond is amazing.

Richmond is a nice little town also.

Goodrich.

It’s proper castle shaped, looks like the thing you have in your head when you think medieval British castle, and is mostly accessible, so you can have a proper “knights of the round table” experience

Krak De Chevalier

I mean, what’s not to like, look at the thing. Even the name is cool.

Edo Castle

The picture is actual just a part of the Edo complex (Fujimi Yagura) which covered acres and acres, and must have been astonishing to behold

Castell Carreg Cennen is really pretty good.

Came to say the same, it gets extra points for having a cave inside where you can walk down to reach an underground spring, very useful under siege. It was also accidentally sold as part of a nearby farm sale and their decendents still own it today.

Chepstow.

Orford.

Pix later :-)

Can’t beat a good hill fort or even a Roman camp. (Caerwent)

Dunnottar Castle on a cloudy misty day, that pic above looks photoshopped to me , maybe not as the occasional sunny day has been known in Stonehaven

Christchurch

Corfe Castle in Dorset. Brings back memories of happy childhood holidays and the odd audax that goes past it.

onehundredthidiotFull Member
Hermitage castle because it’s a proper fortress.

That is impressive!

Edo Castle

The picture is actual just a part of the Edo complex (Fujimi Yagura) which covered acres and acres, and must have been astonishing to behold

Ye-es, but the signs around it all say “this section burned down in 1635 and was rebuilt in 1638. It burned down again in 1642 and was rebuilt in 1643. It burned down again in 1654 and was rebuilt… (etc)” – so it maybe wasn’t the best at being an actual castle!

My castle-love comes from primary school history classes, which mainly focused on the early sort (motte and bailey) and then bashed straight into the concentric castles mainly found in Wales for suppressing the revolting locals.

So Beaumaris is the daddy. Conwy is a personal favourite just because living in the NW we used to go past it fairly regularly. Caernarfon is pretty good too.

Also shout out to Jaisalmer in Rajasthan, built in the 12th Century in the middle of the desert. Hot as balls, but really pretty cool

https://static.wanderon.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/top-min-11.jpg

@harry_the_spider you need to get yourself on to here https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/holiday-cottages/find-a-holiday-cottage/callies-cottage/

You get a key to the castle and get to be there overnight, Pendennis is good, but the best over night stay is carrisbrooke on the Isle of Wight https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/holiday-cottages/find-a-holiday-cottage/bowling-green-apartment/ It was ace riding my bike round the castle after hours!

Corfe Castle in Dorset.

There used to be a round of the SAMS (Southern Area Mountain Bike Series) there. Spectacular course with an absolute ripper of  a descent off the rolling grassy hill. Terrifyingly fast, the hill dropped away at about the same rate as the bike would drop after getting air off the rollers, the result being you’d be off the ground for what felt like ages.

Castle Coefinn, Lismore

I am told that the Game of Thrones location scouts were interested but the locals were not having it.

Nottingham Castle is also a shit castle. It’s supposed to be all Robin Hood and dastardly sheriff and it’s actually a manor house built in the late 1800’s – admittedly on the site of the famed Norman castle but not remotely castle-like.

On which subject – Lindisfarne – castle on the outside, Roaring Twenties party pad on the inside.

Pretentious selection – Helsingor (Elsinore) Castle in DK-land.

My fave book when I was a kid. Still have the copy :)

Well, Blarney is a solid 3/10. They really have milked a “visitor experience” out of it.

Rochester is way more spectacular.

Best looking but very boring visit.

The highlight is the little Armstrong museum.

New

Upon Tyne or Under Lyme?

Barnard, for me

Neidpath is pretty cool big lump missing, cracking swim in the tweed beneath.

Big lump missing which is lying on the ground on the slope beneah.

Much like hermitage proper defensive keep.

The North East of Scotland has some great castles, and some mansions with turrets on top too. I was going to suggest Dunottar but someone got there first.

I’m not sure I’d call it a favourite but I stayed near Skenfrith Castle a couple of years ago and I had a great time wandering around it on a sunny afternoon.