Best castle near London or Edinburgh
 

Group of 8 (includes 2 teenagers) will be visiting London and Edinburgh June 12-23. We plan on taking the train from London to Edinburgh, not really interested in renting a car. We would like to show the kids a castle. We would probably only have one day for a castle visit. Are there any suggestions/recommendations as to the best/easy to get to castle near London or Edinburgh...besides Edinburgh Castle?

I kind of enjoy Stirling, about 50 minutes from Edinburgh by train. Great view of the plains below, and if you or your teens are fans of "Braveheart", they may find it particularly interesting.

Stirling is one of the best castles in Scotland, along with Edinburgh Castle. They are both medieval fortress castles, as opposed to country house 'castles', which are also very common in Scotland. Stirling and Edinburgh castles are similar in construction and age, so if you do Edinburgh, you might find Stirling a little repetitive, especially on consecutive days. At either location, I would recommend the castle tours. The guides are interesting and entertaining, and you can poke around the castle before or after on your own. If you go to Stirling, the Wallace Monument is nearby and has great views from the top.

There are castles that are more like ritzy palaces, then there are the castles that are fortified and more "war-like". Kids usually like the latter (think of Monty Python's Holy Grail and the French troops up on the castle...), they're more adventurous.

For an awesome history lesson you could take them to one of the places where the Roman wall is still intact, that's hugely impressive, with the watchtowers at regular intervals etc. They do daytours out of Edinburgh. As a kid I would have loved that (hey, it still impressed me as a grown-up).

WK

Hi,
Don't forget that the Tower of London is a hugely impressive castle - and it is right in the middle of London. The battlement walk is great and gives a real castle feel. Added to the crown jewels, the armour and the chopping block for the headsman, I think the kids would love it.
If you want a day trip out, Windsor is also impressive and not far.
Have fun
Rosemary

Have a look at:

http://www.castlexplorer.co.uk

Looks like a useful guide to the options!

Stirling springs to mind for me too; but the other one would be Linlithgow Palace.

And near London, go to Leeds Castle in Kent.

I agree with WallyKringen. While Edinburgh, Stirling, Windsor and Arundal are all very nice, they are too "Gentrified" for my taste. For "real" castles I would want to go to Conwy or Caernafon in Wales. I realise this is probably not much help to the original poster.

Other Castles I rally like are Dover, Corfe in Dorset and Portchester near Portsmouth.

I'm sorry, Edinburgh and Stirling are too "gentrified". They are two of the best fortified medieval castles around and still in one piece.

It is all about opinion. To me, the immediate thing I see at both of the abovementioned castles are the big houses, then I see the imposing walls. They seem predominantly places to live that have been fortified.

If you look at the Welsh castles, these appear to be purely military in function - designed to keep armies out. This is why I consider these to be "pure" castles.

gentrified?? Sure there are small museums in each one. Stirling, Edinburgh, Dover, and the Tower all have "houses" in them. The troops have/had to live somewhere, afterall. But they certainly are military/fortified castles.

the ruined castles in places like Wales and Scotland once also had accomodations w/i their walls.

One of my favorite castles was Glamis. It is not far from Edinburgh but you would probably need a car.