Colchester Castle

Colchester was Camulodunum, the first Roman capital of Britain, and the Temple of Claudius stood at its centre until Boudica's forces burned the town in AD 60 or 61 with the population sheltering inside. The Normans built their keep on the temple's surviving podium around 1076, which is why the footprint is so large: at roughly 46 by 34 metres it is the biggest Norman keep known, larger in ground area than the White Tower. Only the lower storeys survive, the upper levels having been partly demolished in the seventeenth century by a man who bought the castle for its stone and gave up. The building is now the town museum, with Roman material from the city, and tours go down into the temple vaults beneath and up onto the roof.

What you actually see

• The Roman vaults - the temple podium the keep was built on, entered on tours.
• The largest Norman keep - a footprint bigger than the White Tower's.
• The Boudican layer - burnt destruction material from AD 60 in the museum.
• The roof tour - views over the Roman street grid below.

When to go

Year-round; the castle is indoors and open daily except at Christmas. Vault and roof tours run at set times, cost extra and sell out, so booking on arrival matters.

Honest expectations

The keep is a stump: two storeys of what were four, so the exterior is squat rather than imposing. The interior is a museum fit-out rather than medieval rooms. The best parts, the vaults and roof, are only reachable on the extra-cost tour.

Nearby

The Roman wall and Dutch Quarter are a short walk; Dedham Vale lies north.