There is no doubt that Britain’s history means it has some of the most fantastic residences in the world. We have decided, in a break with ‘strictly royal’ content, we’d provide you all with a list of 5 of the most beautiful castles in England.
Hope you enjoy!
Blenheim Palace
This is one of England’s largest residences, larger than Buckingham Palace, it was used in the film ‘Young Victoria’ because it bears similarity to Buckingham Palace.
Highclere Castle
This castle will be very familiar to anyone who watches ITV’s period costume drama Downton Abbey. This almost iconic building is the family seat of the Earl and Countess of Caernarfon.
Caerlaverock Castle
Caerlaverock Castle, now a part of ‘Historic Scotland’, is a stunning Scottish castle, formerly belonging to the Earls of Nithsdale. It is technically a castle ruin and has been since the 17th century, but its moat makes it one of the most stunning castles in Britain.
Bodiam Castle
Bodiam Castle is a 14th century moated castle, built in 1385 by Sir Edward Dalyngrigge, a former knight of Edward III, with the permission of Richard II, ostensibly to defend the area against French invasion during the Hundred Years’ War.
Balmoral Castle
The Queen’s personal residence in Scotland, Balmoral Castle, was bought for Queen Victoria and renovated by Prince Albert into what we see today. The Queen travels to Balmoral every summer where she stays for around 6 weeks. It remains one of Her Majesty’s favourite residences.
What is the difference between a castle and a fort? Can a building be both a castle and a fort? What about the Tower of London? Could that be described as a fort/castle or something else?
A beautiful moat and wetlands doesn’t necessarily make a beautiful castle, but 3 cheers for Caerlaverock beating Windsor Castle into the high five!
When it comes to stunning locations, Eilean Donan and Duart must be near the top of the charts.
If you are going to focus on castles & ruins, how about a feature on Tintagel Castle?
A fort is generally used as a Military base. HM Tower of London is a fortress (it’s officially ‘Her Majesty’s Royal Palace & Fortress’) and has always contained a garrison of soldiers who guard the tower and its possessions.
Having said that, The Tower of London is the only English property we know of to be both a Fortress and Castle (with the White Tower still containing a royal residence).
Castles are fortifications designed for occupation, Windsor Castle being the best example, there are no barracks based in the Castle and soldiers come from the nearby Victoria Barracks.
Good morning to you,
well just to tell you that you people don’t know how lucky you are to have all of this marvel history at your finger tips!!
I live in Poland, and architecture is totally different. However, we there are also great castles, like Malbork Castle, Niemodlin. The lat one is a star of Polish TV. Youcan check more inforamtion on the main webpage: