Fodor's Expert Review Goodrich Castle

Looming dramatically over the River Wye at Kerne Bridge, from the south, the castle looks like a fortress from the Rhineland amid the green fields; you quickly see its grimmer face from the battlements on its north side. Dating from the late 12th century, the red sandstone castle is surrounded by a deep moat carved out of solid rock, from which its walls appear to soar upward. Built to repel Welsh raiders, it was destroyed in the 17th century during the Civil War, and it's where you can view the only surviving Civil War mortar, known as "Roaring Meg."