Harlech castle is in Wales is the best castle in the UK. For a smaller castle but with a good hill to climb and a great view from the top is Beeston Castle in Cheshire.
My ex has loved castles all her life. She much prefers ones that have seen action and that generally means ones that are hard to think of as "complete", if you get my drift. Many castles in the UK are not actually castles at all, in that they were not meant to be more than very large homes that were easily defended, should that ever be neccessary. Many buildings called castles are also far more recnt that you'd believe, having been rebuilt and/or extended numerous times over the centuries. The same applies to buildings called "Abbey". They are all impressive places to visit, especially if the weather is good........
Castles were originally defencive bases. Over the centuries they became more home that military. This has lead to some being large houses, the military ruins long gone and built over
@@HipOverFifty A lot of castles were "slighted" (deliberately damaged or destroyed) during various wars, with the English Civil War being a prime candidate. A good example of slighting is Raglan Castle in Monmouthshire which had its walls seriously damaged following the castle's capture by Parliamentarian forces in 1646.
@bonetiredtoo My favourite would be Corfe Castle that held out against the paralimentarians till a traitor opened the doors from the inside. Even now in ruins, it looks amazing
The Normans built wooden Castles originally. They only began to be rebuilt in stone from the 12th century. The Romans had built many stone forts & walled towns in Britain long before the Normans. Highclere Castle, & Castle Howard & similar, are NOT castles. They are only called so because they stand where a previous castle had stood, to replace it with a more comfortable accommodation. A Castle has to have actual fortifications, a country house just will not do. Most extant inhabited Castles, like Windsor & Arundel etc, are largely quite recent rebuilds, having been regularly reformed over the centuries, so what you see now is largely Georgian & Victorian, totally masking any real ancient structures. Having said that, the original Castles were not as uncomfortable as you might imagine. They were not all bare stone, & timber, but lined & plastered, decorated & dressed with wall hangings, curtains & wooden panelling, often with glass in the windows etc. Of course windows were placed where no one could use them for access, & might be quite small for security reasons, yet some, in safer parts of the buildings might be fairly large. The Castles important areas were kept warm by fires in large fireplaces, while the exterior areas of the wards or Bailey, often had vegetable, herb, & even flower gardens, & there was always a substantial water supply by a well or similar means. All important rooms were on the first floor, or higher, that is the first floor above the ground in the UK, so damp was not a problem for the Lords of the Castle. The Norman Castles were not provided to protect the general population, rather were they built to intimidate the people & show them who was boss, i.e. the Normans.
A very gentle slap on the wrists: title says "Best Castles in England" :) That aside, my favourite of all is Harlech which really is a castle that looks brutal and was a purely military outpost of English power in Wales.
Harlech castle is in Wales is the best castle in the UK. For a smaller castle but with a good hill to climb and a great view from the top is Beeston Castle in Cheshire.
Thanks for the info!
A well informed list. May I suggest Dover for consideration.
To right it has a Roman light house as well.
The castles are stunning and awe-inspiring with their architecture, age, and history. Hope to see some in the future😊
They are!
Ummm... nice video of some GB castles, but...
Incorrect title (I think you meant Britain not England), and somehow you missed out Tower of London?!
Thank you so much for this video 💐. It’s been my lifelong dream to do a castle tour. I’m an American too so much appreciation for your content ‼️
You are so welcome!
My ex has loved castles all her life.
She much prefers ones that have seen action and that generally means ones that are hard to think of as "complete", if you get my drift.
Many castles in the UK are not actually castles at all, in that they were not meant to be more than very large homes that were easily defended, should that ever be neccessary.
Many buildings called castles are also far more recnt that you'd believe, having been rebuilt and/or extended numerous times over the centuries.
The same applies to buildings called "Abbey".
They are all impressive places to visit, especially if the weather is good........
Castles were originally defencive bases. Over the centuries they became more home that military. This has lead to some being large houses, the military ruins long gone and built over
Thanks for sharing- I’d say our castles and for that matter homes have always been a work in progress!
@@HipOverFifty A lot of castles were "slighted" (deliberately damaged or destroyed) during various wars, with the English Civil War being a prime candidate.
A good example of slighting is Raglan Castle in Monmouthshire which had its walls seriously damaged following the castle's capture by Parliamentarian forces in 1646.
@bonetiredtoo My favourite would be Corfe Castle that held out against the paralimentarians till a traitor opened the doors from the inside. Even now in ruins, it looks amazing
The Normans built wooden Castles originally. They only began to be rebuilt in stone from the 12th century. The Romans had built many stone forts & walled towns in Britain long before the Normans. Highclere Castle, & Castle Howard & similar, are NOT castles. They are only called so because they stand where a previous castle had stood, to replace it with a more comfortable accommodation. A Castle has to have actual fortifications, a country house just will not do.
Most extant inhabited Castles, like Windsor & Arundel etc, are largely quite recent rebuilds, having been regularly reformed over the centuries, so what you see now is largely Georgian & Victorian, totally masking any real ancient structures. Having said that, the original Castles were not as uncomfortable as you might imagine. They were not all bare stone, & timber, but lined & plastered, decorated & dressed with wall hangings, curtains & wooden panelling, often with glass in the windows etc. Of course windows were placed where no one could use them for access, & might be quite small for security reasons, yet some, in safer parts of the buildings might be fairly large. The Castles important areas were kept warm by fires in large fireplaces, while the exterior areas of the wards or Bailey, often had vegetable, herb, & even flower gardens, & there was always a substantial water supply by a well or similar means. All important rooms were on the first floor, or higher, that is the first floor above the ground in the UK, so damp was not a problem for the Lords of the Castle. The Norman Castles were not provided to protect the general population, rather were they built to intimidate the people & show them who was boss, i.e. the Normans.
Paperback DK Eyewitness Book of CASTLE.
A very gentle slap on the wrists: title says "Best Castles in England" :)
That aside, my favourite of all is Harlech which really is a castle that looks brutal and was a purely military outpost of English power in Wales.