Fodor's Expert Review Sizergh Castle

One of the Lake District's finest fortified houses, Sizergh Castle has a 58-foot-tall tower that dates from 1340, more than 1,600 acres of grounds, and the national fern collection. Expanded in Elizabethan times, the castle includes outstanding oak-paneled interiors with intricately carved chimneypieces and oak furniture. The estate has ancient woodland, and there are good walks here. Sizergh is 3½ miles south of Kendal.