Corfe Castle

Corfe Castle stands on the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset, on a hill in a gap in the Purbeck Hills. The castle was founded soon after the Norman Conquest of 1066, and the first stone keep, built under Henry I, was complete by 1105. In the Civil War Lady Mary Bankes defended the castle against besiegers in 1643; in the winter of 1645–46 it fell through the treachery of an officer of the garrison, and Parliament then ordered its destruction. After 1660 the Bankes family preferred to build Kingston Lacy; Ralph Bankes bequeathed the estate to the National Trust in 1981.

It is about a ten-minute walk from the main car park, which has 90 spaces, fills quickly at busy times and is often quieter in the afternoon. The site has steep slopes, steps and uneven paths. The Swanage Railway runs steam and diesel trains from Wareham to Swanage, not daily in summer (check the timetable), and Corfe Castle has its own station. The Purbeck Ridgeway leads 14 to 15 km to the coast, and you can return by train if you wish.