Built: Between 1165 and 1173
Location: Orford, Suffolk, England
History: The castle came to a total of £1,413 to build. Once built, Orford remained an important royal castle for the next 150 years.
Orford castle first introduced curtain walls with flanking towers – this was highly significant in encouraging the development of this type of fortification in the late 12th century.
Review: The most notable thing about this castle is how well intact it is. Although it is only the keep that remains and not the outer walls, the inside of the keep is very well preserved allowing for a great deal of exploring of every nook and cranny.
It has many enclosed rooms, and there are several ‘garderobes’ (basic long drop toilets) for anyone interested in that fact.
The audio guide allows for a much-needed history lesson when it comes to this castle – there is so much that went on that it makes it extremely entertaining. You would not have thought that such a small looking castle would have had such history, but a lot has occurred here.
The guide is certainly worth getting as it makes for a much more fun tour.
It is quite easy to spend an hour wandering around here, there is so much to see – there are a lot of stairs mind (but that shouldn’t surprise you when it comes to castles).
Finally, there is a wonderful view from the top, definitely worth climbing all those stairs! There is so much to see and it really makes it worthwhile.
There isn’t a coffee shop on site, but in the village of Orford, there is still plenty of exploring to do, with a couple of small shops and really just a pleasant feeling surrounding it.
I would definitely say that this little gem of a castle is well worth a visit.
The feature picture was taken from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/england/east-anglia/articles/norfolk-and-suffolkattractions/
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