I visited Castle Rising Castle at the end of June when I visited Norfolk. The castle, located near Kings Lynn, is managed by English Heritage, and visitors can explore the 12th century castle and earthworks. The castle is mainly in ruins but with its structure largely intact, and it served as a royal residence and hunting lodge. The castle was the home of Queen Isabella (mother of Edward III) after the murder of her husband Edward II, and it was passed to the Howard family in the late 1500s. The Howard family still own the castle.
The castle is surrounded by a moat, which is now dry today but still contains a bridge over.
The gatehouse is in ruins, but the arches are still intact.
The shell of the castle itself is still standing and very improsing, and I can imagine how it could have intimidated and been a symbol of power to all who visited it.
The castle was built by th brother of William the Conqueror after marriage to the widow of Henry I.
Visitors can enter inside the castle, and I walked up to the top of the stairs to start the exploration of the ruin.
This room at the top was the reception room, and th arched doorway here is in fine detail and would have been painted different colours and meant to impress visitors.
Off of this room is a hallway off to other rooms that would have been in the apartments over the keep / great hall.
The great hall is now open to the elements.
There was one room still intact with som floor tiles as well. I also visited the chapel area, but some areas were blocked off due to safety concerns.
I went to walk to th top of the castle tower to see the view, but this was also closed off. There were also a couple of roosting pigeons.
On the lower ground floor, I explored more rooms of the shell.
After exploring the remains of the castle, I walked around the earthworks around the moat to see some glimpses of the castle.
The castle is open all year around, but there are reduced hours and closure on some days throughout the autumn, winter, and spring months.
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