CASTLES SALISBURY

Old Sarum sits on a dramatic hilltop near Salisbury, built around an Iron Age hillfort by William the Conqueror in 1069 as a motte-and-bailey fortress. For 150 years it served as a major centre of secular and ecclesiastical government, with Bishop Roger expanding it around 1100 and Henry VIII himself conducting ceremonies here. The castle's decline began after the bishopric relocated to Salisbury in 1219, though it remained administratively important until the Tudor period. Today, English Heritage preserves the mound and foundations as atmospheric ruins offering sweeping views across the Wiltshire countryside, testament to nearly a millennium of English history compressed into a single fortified hilltop.

Old Wardour Castle near Tisbury in Wiltshire showcases a unique six-sided 14th-century tower house built by John, Lord Lovel as a statement of prestige as much as defence, with unusually large windows on its outer walls. The Arundell family later remodelled it as an Elizabethan manor, though it suffered greatly during the English Civil War. Today the hexagonal ruins stand serenely in a picturesque lakeside setting amid woodland acres, managed by English Heritage, where visitors discover a Georgian banqueting house and the whimsical Gothic Grotto incorporating prehistoric standing stones. The castle's romantic setting provides an ideal backdrop for exploring medieval architecture and Civil War history, with excellent picnicking opportunities among the grounds.

Longford Castle is a distinctive triangular Elizabethan prodigy house built in 1591 for Sir Thomas Gorges, courtier to Queen Elizabeth I, located in the Wiltshire countryside near Salisbury beside the River Avon. The castle's unique three-angle design with drum towers reflects Swedish architectural influences brought by the owner's wife, Helena Snakenborg, a former lady-in-waiting to the Queen. Now the ancestral seat of the Earls of Radnor, the castle houses a hugely important art collection featuring works by van Dyck, Claude, Reynolds, and Gainsborough, along with exceptional 18th-century English furniture and continental decorative arts. Seasonal guided tours through the National Gallery provide access to this remarkable blend of Renaissance design and artistic treasures.

Clarendon Palace was a significant medieval royal residence in rural Wiltshire, established well before the nearby city of Salisbury was founded in the 1200s. Recognized as the most westerly major royal rural residence in medieval England, the palace represented an important centre of royal power from the 1100s until its abandonment around 1500. Today, visitors can observe extensive earthworks throughout the landscape, including a major section of the Great Hall's eastern wall that remains standing, and evidence of an exceptionally large associated deer park. Now managed by the Friends of Clarendon Palace, the site continues to attract archaeological interest and international visitors interested in medieval royal history.