Framlingham Castle

Built by the Bigod earls around 1190 after an earlier castle was slighted, Framlingham was among the first English castles to abandon the central keep in favour of a continuous curtain wall with thirteen towers, a design taken from crusader practice. The wall walk runs the full circuit, which is unusual and is the main reason to visit. In July 1553 Mary Tudor gathered support here and was proclaimed queen at the castle after the attempt to place Lady Jane Grey on the throne failed. The Tudor brick chimneys along the wall are largely ornamental additions of the sixteenth century. Inside the walls is not a hall but a Poor House built in 1729, since the castle was left for that use. Ed Sheeran's song Castle on the Hill refers to this one.

What you actually see

• The full wall walk - a continuous circuit along thirteen linked towers.
• The keepless plan - a curtain-wall design from about 1190.
• The Tudor chimneys - decorative brick stacks added along the parapet.
• The Poor House - a 1729 building standing where the great hall stood.

When to go

April to October for full opening and the best weather on the exposed wall walk; winter opening is limited to weekends at most sites of this type. Events and re-enactments run through summer.

Honest expectations

The interior is essentially an empty lawn with one Georgian building, so the castle is walls rather than rooms. The wall walk has steep spiral stairs and no lift, and is closed in high wind. The mere below is often more marsh than lake.

Nearby

Saxtead Green post mill is close; Orford Castle and the coast lie southeast.