A day trip to the fabulous ruins of the old Royalist stronghold of Corfe Castle, which was much less chaotic than our previous adventure to Charmouth.
The day started with a lovely garden centre carvery. Which sounds like it would be middle of the road, but turned out to be rather a generous portion for a very reasonable price. After enjoying this, it was onwards to the old castle.
Parking was less than straightforward, as the signs stating Car Park Full were on display. I suggested, however, that we ignore this and try anyway after failing to find anywhere else nearby. This was successful, and soon we were taking the lovely walk around the base of the Mote on which the castle was built.
Once at the castle entrance, we collected a flight of the birds activity sheet and made our way to the inner keep. Much of the castle lies in ruins now. After being besieged in the 1600s by Parliamentary forces, they took the walls down with gunpowder to prevent it from being used in the future. Now the National Trust is working their way through restorations to preserve what remains for future generations.
As we passed the murder holes of the next gateway, the size and grandeur of what had once been became obvious. Much more of the inner castle remains, giving a real idea of what has been destroyed. The views the remaining windows give are truly incredible.
As we explored, we learnt lots about the different birds you can find within the castle, including the Peregrine Falcons that moved into an old fireplace during 2020. In the process, scaring off the resident Ravens, though they have since returned.
Soon enough we were in what had been the living quarters of the castle, not that it looked like it now. The floors were completely gone, leaving towering walls that used to have 3 or 4 floors worth of rooms but now are only home to birds.
We finished our afternoon by enjoying a cream tea in the onsite cafe. A lovely end to a beautiful day.
To see the rest of my photos, check out the album on Flickr: Corfe Castle and Corfe hide and Seek
Daffodils Photography 
Leave a comment