📌 Norham, Northumberland
★★★
🛠️ Castle closed due to health & safety concerns (checked May 2024)
Where’s the most dangerous place in England? According to Sir Walter Scott, it’s Norham Castle, just a few hundred metres from the Scottish border which today follows the River Tweed. Since its construction in 1121, this fortress is thought to have been besieged at least 13 times, resulting in at least four successful captures by Scottish forces. The last of these was in 1513 but, following English victory at the nearby Battle of Flodden, Norham Castle returned to English ownership under the Bishop of Durham. Each siege caused varying degrees of damage to the outer ward, ancillary buildings and inner tower, followed by frantic rebuilding during the intervening periods of temporary stability. Given the castle’s violent history, it’s perhaps surprising that there’s still a lot to see. The Great Tower dominates the view, with three sides more or less complete and access possible to first floor level. Then working outwards, you can explore the underground vaults, inner moat, gatehouse and various buildings in the outer ward. And admission is free!
🌍 Location
📌 Castle Street, 0.5 mi east of Norham village
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NT 906476
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 55.721779,-2.150536
🚌 Bus stops at castle entrance
🚗 Car park just to east of castle, uphill from the gatehouse
📝 Key info
⌚ Daily, April to September; weekends, October to March
🎫 Free
I have been to norham castle and I have a book also I am doing a history of Berwick
Sounds interesting Joyce!