FAQ
Every answer here is drawn from the 405 castles actually catalogued in this roll — not general trivia.
This roll lists 405 castles with a genuine public offer — ticketed entry, regular tours, an accessible ruin, or a hotel occupying the castle itself. Thousands more sites have castle earthworks or foundations with nothing standing to visit; those are excluded here by design.
109 castles in this roll are free, open-access ruins with no ticket booth — mostly Cadw and Historic Environment Scotland sites maintained as scheduled monuments. Look for the 'Free, open access' badge on any entry.
Yes — 59 castles in this roll offer bookable accommodation, from English Heritage holiday cottages within the walls at Dover and Walmer to full castle hotels like Thornbury and Amberley. See the full list on the Sleep in a Castle page.
They're the four largest heritage bodies caring for UK castles: English Heritage (England), National Trust (England/Wales/Northern Ireland), Cadw (Wales, the Welsh Government's service), and Historic Environment Scotland (Scotland). Each runs its own membership scheme, and a single membership only covers its own properties — this roll covers all of them plus every private, council and independently run castle besides.
Windsor Castle is widely cited as the largest continuously occupied castle in the world, and Dover Castle is the largest castle in England by area. Several Scottish and Welsh entries in this roll — Stirling, Edinburgh, Caerphilly — are also among the largest in their own countries.
196 castles in this roll are in England — more than any other UK nation, reflecting both its size and the density of Norman and medieval castle-building here.
121 castles in this roll are in Scotland, from Historic Environment Scotland's ruined strongholds to the country's many private tower houses and clan seats.
69 castles in this roll are in Wales — Cadw alone cares for dozens of them, including several from Edward I's 13th-century ring of Welsh castles.
A motte-and-bailey castle is the earliest widespread castle design built in Britain, arriving with the Norman Conquest: a raised earthwork mound (the motte), usually topped with a wooden or stone keep, next to an enclosed courtyard (the bailey). 10 motte-and-bailey castles survive well enough to visit in this roll — see the full list on the motte-and-bailey guide.
A concentric castle has two or more complete rings of defensive walls, one inside the other, so archers on the inner wall could support the outer line without leaving it. The design was refined during Edward I's Welsh campaigns in the late 13th century. 4 concentric castles are included in this roll, including Caerphilly Castle — one of the largest in Britain. See the full list on the concentric castle guide.
Between 1539 and 1547, Henry VIII built a chain of coastal artillery forts — known as the Device Forts — in response to the threat of invasion from Catholic Europe after his break with Rome. 9 survive well enough to visit today. See the full list on the Device Forts guide.
A tower house is a compact, vertically-stacked fortified residence — a single defensible tower rather than a sprawling walled complex — common across Scotland and the Anglo-Scottish Borders from the 14th to the 17th centuries. 8 tower houses are included in this roll. See the full list on the Scottish tower houses guide.
The meaningful difference is defensive intent: a castle was built primarily as a fortification — walls, towers and gatehouses designed to be defended — while a palace was built primarily as a grand residence, without serious defensive purpose. Some sites started as one and became the other over centuries; several entries in this roll, including Windsor Castle, now function as both.
A fort was built purely for military use — usually artillery — with no residential purpose. A castle typically combined defence with lordship: a residence that projected power as much as it repelled attack. Henry VIII's Device Forts in this roll are a clear example of the fort side of that line — built to house guns and gunners, not a lord's household.
4 castles in this roll carry visitor-reported ghost stories in their own reviews: Muncaster Castle (England), Chillingham Castle (England), Ballygally Castle (Northern Ireland), Alloa Tower (Scotland). This roll doesn't rank hauntings — it only notes where reviewers themselves raised it unprompted.
The Tower of London (the White Tower, begun in 1078) and Windsor Castle (also founded under William the Conqueror, in the early 1070s) are among the oldest continuously used castles in Britain, though 'oldest' depends on whether you count the original earthwork, the first masonry, or unbroken occupation. Several motte-and-bailey sites in this roll predate any surviving stone construction by decades.
Yes — Windsor Castle is open to visitors most days of the year, though it remains a working royal residence, so opening hours, the State Apartments and which areas are accessible can vary around royal engagements. Check official ticketing before a visit for exact days and prices.