The UK's best castles, and how to visit them

Telegraph

10-05-2025

Castles come in all shapes and sizes – castellated or moated, ruined or repurposed, fantasy or bouncy – and they've been a feature of the UK's landscape since 1066.
One definition might be a battle-station crossed with a domestic abode: the Tower of London, for example, one of Britain's earliest castles, was a fortress and working palace, with a handy private mooring that we now call Traitors' Gate.
Castles defended borders and fiefdoms and evolved according to the weapons technology they faced. All this makes them both fun to clamber over and fascinating to find out about.
Here's a list of our favourites across the UK.
Carisbrooke Castle, Isle of Wight
A motte-and-bailey structure built on older earthwork, King Charles I was imprisoned here for 14 months before his execution and allegedly once got stuck in a window trying to escape. Walk the walls, see the former King's private room, then explore the contemporary garden inspired by Queen Victoria's daughter, Princess Beatrice, who was also the island's Governor for 48 years.
Insider tip: Meet the castle's much-loved resident donkeys, who help to demonstrate how water was once drawn from the well house.
Price: Admission from Visit Isle of Wight; £13.10, adult; £8.10, child; £11.80, concession
Where to stay: The Bowling Green Apartment in the grounds of Carisbrooke Castle (0370 333 1181) sleeps four from £435 for three nights, excluding breakfast.
Warwick Castle, Warwickshire
Warwick Castle delivers a hectic schedule of commercial events, from siege engine demonstrations to birds of prey shows. It's great fun (over-10s: risk the immersive Castle Dungeon show if you dare) but there's plenty of serious history on offer, too – this is, after all, a 1,000-year-old powerhouse with pioneering landscaping courtesy of the 18th-century gardener Lancelot 'Capability' Brown. Castle accommodation ranges from glamping to tower suites.
Insider tip: Climb the ancient Mound for views over the town of Warwick.
Where to stay: The Warwick Castle Hotel (01926 406610) has double rooms from £99, including breakfast.
Dunnottar Castle, Aberdeenshire
Dunnottar crouches on a promontory between two bays, glaring at the North Sea. St Ninian built a chapel here in 400, the Vikings invaded in 900, William Wallace attacked 400 years later, and the Honours of Scotland were kept safe here. Later, stripped bare, it was rescued by the Cowdrays, who still own it.
Insider tip: Walk from Stonehaven via the Black Hill War Memorial and get the X7 back from near Dunnottar. Allow 90 minutes each way.
Where to stay: Ship Inn, Stonehaven (01569 762617) has sea views and 11 rooms. Doubles from £130, including breakfast.
Leeds Castle, Kent
This beauty, reflected in its own moat, rose on older foundations in the 13th century and has been much altered, most notably in the 1820s. Associated with many queens, it became a glamorous home in the 1920s under chatelaine Olive, Lady Baillie. Children love the obstacle course and yew maze with a grotto at its heart.
Insider tip: 1) It's not in Yorkshire. 2) See the original Norman cellars, used for salted meat, dry goods, wines and candle wax.
Where to stay: There's plenty of places to stay in the castle itself, but book early. Doubles from £145, including breakfast.
Enniskillen Castle, Co Fermanagh
For 600 years, Enniskillen Castle has dominated the waterways south of Lough Erne. Built by the Maguires, it was in English hands by 1609, and its distinctive gatehouse symbolises the Plantation of Ulster. Six buildings include a local history museum and a military museum for not one but two famous local regiments.
Insider tip: Ulster ancestry? Book a free 30-minute session at the Fermanagh Genealogy Centre in the former castle barracks.
Where to stay: Killyhelvin Lakeside Lodges & Hotel has double rooms from £130 per night, including breakfast.
Chepstow Castle, Monmouthshire
Earl William FitzOsbern built Chepstow Castle in 1067, just pipping the Tower of London to the post. Now ruined, it crowns a ridge with the town of Chepstow on one side and the River Wye on the other. It was owned by a series of magnates keeping a watchful eye on Wales; what survives is the remains of a rare triple bailey, an 11th- century Great Hall and magnificent walls, mostly walkable.
Insider tip: Europe's oldest castle doors, thought to be 12th century, are on display inside (today's gatehouse doors are replicas.)
Price: Admission to Chepstow Castle is £10, adult; £7, child; £9, concession
Where to stay: The St Pierre Marriott Country Club (01291 625261) occupies a 14th-century manor house in parkland, with spa, pool and two golf courses. Doubles from £164, including breakfast.
Middleham Castle, North Yorkshire
Middleham sits on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales and in 1260, via marriage, became a stronghold of the powerful Neville family. Edward IV stayed here with Warwick 'the Kingmaker' and the future Richard III grew up in his household and wed his daughter. See the replica gold and sapphire Middleham Jewel, found here in 1985 (the original is in the Yorkshire Museum).
Insider tip: The castle is just near the Middleham Gallops; stop to watch the racehorses and jockeys fly past in training.
Where to stay: The Priory Hotel opposite (01969 623279) has double rooms from £155 per night, including breakfast (minimum two-night stay).
Burgh Castle Roman Fort, Norfolk
That Burgh Castle's flint walls are still guarding the 'Saxon Shore' after 1,700 years is a tribute to Roman builders. It overlooks Breydon Water, which divides the southern and northern Norfolk Broads; three rivers join here on route to the sea at Great Yarmouth and wading birds stalk the tidal mud flats. Perfect for a picnic or a jaunt to the nearby pub.
Insider tip: Walk the Angles Way from Great Yarmouth and get the X11 Coastlink bus back.
Where to stay: Fritton Lake (01493 484008), four miles south on the Somerleyton estate, has double rooms from £180, room only.
Castell Harlech, Snowdonia
This hulking beast, standing foursquare over the sand dunes in Harlech (and caravan park) that now separate it from the Irish sea, is an essay in mediaeval aggression. It is one of four Welsh castles built for King Edward I that share Unesco World Heritage status, and at one time was taken by the Welsh prince Owain Glyndwr.
Insider tip: Board a train for a coastal journey on the scenic Cambrian Line from Barmouth to Harlech from £6.80, adult; £1.45 child (Anytime Day Return).
Where to stay: Penmaenuchaf Hall Hotel (01341 422129) is a cosy, 14-room Victorian country house, 35 minutes' drive away. Doubles from £191, including breakfast.
Old Sarum, Wiltshire
Talk about value for money: Old Sarum is a perfect Norman castle mound sitting on the perfect ramparts of a 400 BCE Iron Age fort, with the perfect outline of the original cathedral and perfect views of Salisbury Cathedral below. The cathedral moved to Salisbury in 1220, due to friction with the castle's garrison.
Insider tip: The loos in the car park occupy a Second World War pillbox and wireless station.
Where to stay: The Riverside Salisbury (01722 338388), by the River Nadder, has plenty of parking and doubles from £120, including breakfast.