CASTLES CRAVEN ARMS

Clun Castle stands on a dramatic rocky mound on the edge of Craven Arms in Shropshire's designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, featuring extensive earthworks and riverside ruins of a Welsh border fortress. Founded shortly after the Norman Conquest—likely by Picot de Say—the castle prospered until the early 15th century when it was devastated by followers of Welsh chieftain Owain Glyn Dwr. With its distinctive tall 13th-century keep set unusually on the side of its central mound and flanked by two baileys, the castle is owned by the Duke of Norfolk and managed by English Heritage with free public access, showcasing centuries of frontier conflicts.

Hopton Castle is a medieval fortification located in Shropshire, England, halfway between Knighton and Craven Arms, with origins tracing to the 12th century. Originally constructed as a motte-and-bailey structure, it was later fortified in stone by Walter de Hopton during the Barons' War of the 1260s. The castle gained prominence during the English Civil War when it was held for Parliament—a rare royalist-opposing stronghold in the west. In 1644, the castle fell under siege by Sir Michael Woodhouse with approximately 500 troops; the subsequent massacre of thirty Roundhead defenders under Samuel More became a grim historical episode. A ruin since the early 18th century, Hopton Castle was partially restored between 2006 and 2011 and reopened to the public in 2011.