Restormel Castle; Situated in beautiful Cornish countryside and seen as, "one of the most remarkable castles in Britain", English Heritage.

/ Restormel castle/

Restormel Castle is situated in beautiful Cornish countryside and is seen as, "one of the most remarkable castles in Britain", according to English Heritage. It is virtually unique in its design and therefore is rather special in my opinion. There aren’t many shell keeps around and this is one of the best. It is very different from the magnificent castles of North Wales, the amazing Warwick Castle, Dover castle and the beautiful Bodiam Castle.Standing on the wall walk you can see the wonderful curved wall in front and behind you. The skill of the builders to create such curves is impressive. It is quietly tucked away in the glorious Cornish countryside with wonderful views in all directions. Standing on the wall walk you can see the wonderful curved wall in front and behind you. The skill of the builders to create such curves is impressive.

  • It is quietly tucked away in the glorious Cornish countryside with wonderful views in all directions.

Read More

St Michael's Mount; a castle, a monastery and first beacon in the chain to alert Elizabeth I that the Armada was coming.

/ St Michael's Mount/

Why visit St Michael’s Mount? Getting there is an adventure. You can walk at low tide across a causeway or go on a short boat trip. On landing, you then have the challenge of getting to the top. From the mainland it cries out to be visited and from the top you get some great views. Pilgrims have visited it for centuries. It has survived a variety of historic events such as the Wars of the Roses, Spanish Armada and the Napoleonic Wars. It has been altered so many times over the years that each room in the mix takes you to a new part of its history. It has a unique and fascinating collection of artefacts. There is no guessing what you will see in the next room.

Read More

Tintagel Castle and our quest for King Arthur.

/ Tintagel Castle/

This blog will unravel the mysteries of the stories of King Arthur and Tintagel. It describes and explains how the story grew over time and sheds light on the truth about King Arthur. It suggests why you should visit Tintagel Castle. It is the mythical birthplace and home of King Arthur, allegedly the greatest King of Britain. There are an awful lot of legends associated with this place that are outlined below. It is a fascinating ruined to explore. It has beautiful views of the rocky coastline. It is in English Heritage’s top five of most visited places.

Read More

Launceston Castle, an unusual castle once owned by some fascinating people.

/ Launceston Castle/

Launceston Castle, a “must visit” for all castle fans. Originally a “motte and bailey” type of castle, it is almost unique in design. The shell keep sits on top of a motte with a central tower rising up above it. Standing on the staircase and looking over at the motte, it is easy to see why this style of castle was built. It is almost impossible to attack it by riding up the motte because it is far too steep for horses. It is also very steep for foot soldiers to charge up trying to defend themselves and attack with appropriate weapons. It is easy to see how such a design can be defended by shooting arrows at the enemy trying to clamber up the steep motte and making rather indefensible targets. Looking from the top of the tower gives an amazing view of the surrounding town and countryside. Such a view would give an early warning of an advancing army. The masonry of the keep, thin pieces of local shale stone is very different from most castles which are usually made of large oblong blocks of limestone or sandstone. Building with this thin stone seems to me to be a lot harder than using big stone that make up the Tower of London or Bodium Castle.

Read More

England in peril. Why Henry VIII built Pendennis and St. Mawes Castles.

/ Pendennis Castle/

Why was Henry VIII’s England in peril? The short answer to this is that in Henry’s desperate bid to get a son, he made three big enemies, France, Spain and the Pope. In 1538 they all ganged up against him.Henry’s response was a plan known as the “Device of the King”, which proposed to build castles, forts, defence embankments etc to protect the south coast of England. One of those castles was Pendennis Castle in Cornwall. Potential landing points and vulnerable ports were to be protected against any French and/or Spanish attack. These were the last castles built in England except for “mock” castles harking back to the past but were still part of Britain’s defences in World War two. Henry’s daughter, Queen Elizabeth I was able to use this line of defences at the time of the Spanish Armada in 1588. and for two subsequent but smaller armadas in 1596 and 1597.

Read More