I will be in the Cotswolds and Kent for 10 days.
Armed with an English Castle guide by Counties and an Ancient sites book by the Guardian, I have a list.
Talk about too much of a good thing!!
Please help me pare down my list.
Blenheim
Warwick
Kenilsworth
Berkeley
Bodiam
Rochester
Hever
Chartwell
Knole
Leeds
Deal
Arundel
Or maybe try to do them all?????????
I also would like to do Avesbury and a Roman House inKent.

Definitely Blenheim and Chartwell. I enjoyed the gardens at Hever. Been to all on your list except Warwick. My favorite isn't there though Stokesay!

Warwick is a great castle, it is a must see! Leeds is spectacular also. I love castles and can't get enough of them.

avalon, besides Stokesay?
Jed, I love castle too.

Definitely Blenheim and Warwick. You might consider Chatsworth as well although it might be too far north for you.

Website for Stokesay

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stokesay_Castle

I will be staying in Cranbrook in Kent for 3 nights, Delaine.
Stoksey looks great too! Just waht I need another place to add to my list! ;-)

Dover Castle - close to Deal to me is one of the most awesome castles in Britain - a much bigger deal to me than the dimunitive Deal Castle.

Dover Castle is perched on the Cliffs of Dover and protects Britain's gateway by boat to the Continent - the castle of your dreams.

Blenheim is a palace and not a castle.

Judyrem on Sep 16, 10 at 12:59pm
I will be staying in Cranbrook in Kent for 3 nights>

Kent to me is one of Britain's most overlooked places by American tourists - I spent worked off and on for a decade in Kent and put together a Kent thread:

Fodors.com > Travel Talk > Europe > Kent

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...2&tid=35149513

Pal, I know Blenheim is a palace ;-).
Chartwell is manor house.
I should have included manors and palaces in the title...my fault.

BTW, we did a day trip from London a few years ago to Dover, and I totally loved it too.
The WWII tunnels were incredible also.

Think that might be too many - are you sharing your trip with another? If so what's their daliy castle capacity?

If you're serious on cutting some down then try and jot down the usp of each at see if that helps determine which need to go.

Personally speaking:-

<b>Blenheim</b> - not a castle, a very very large house/palace. Houses don't float my boat so I'd happily skip it.
<b>Warwick</b> - great, very complete/renovated. Owned by the Tussauds people and run as a kind of Ye Olde English Disney Castle. Whilst I know some adore it, it'd just too much smoke and mirrors for my liking.
<b>Kenilworth</b> - Fantastic castle - some of the best ruins in the country. Cromwell's troop slighted it to a perfect degree - very evocative and now with added Tudor Garden goodness. Definitely a keeper.
<b>Berkeley</b> Is O.K. I find it hard to work up either enthusiasm or antipathy. I'd desribe it as anonymous. (I think there are better).
<b>Bodiam</b> Absolutely first rate. Do not miss. The best moat in Britain? Probably. Everything a castle should be. In spades. Do not miss.
<b>Rochester</b> Another personal favourite. I love the way the story of John's seige in 1215 is written so clearly in the architecture (the one round tower built to replace the mined one). The Keep is the most impressive in England, along with The White Tower and Richmond in Yorks. You can also pop into Rochester's pocket sized cathedral next door for a bit of God to go with your military history.
<b>Hever</b> As far as castles go it's a nice house. As far as houses go it's a poor castle. Move on.
<b>Chartwell</b> Again, not a castle, just a farmhouse on (Victorian) steroids. If you're interested in Churchill then may be worth a visit otherwise I can't see the point.
<b>Knole</b> Ah, now I'm going to surprise any of you that've been paying attention. Manor House with ambitions it may be but I'm rather fond of Knole. Possibly because I must have vistited three or four times on school trips but I love the park, the space and the walled gardens. Beats Chartwell into a cocked hat.
<b>Leeds</b> Another good moat, very romantic ensemble view but beyond that I'll pass. A dog-collar museum?! V. popular with coach parties and tourists so what do I know? If you want my opinion it's been gussied up to the nines and beyond. It'd make a lovely house though.
<b>Deal</b> Yes! Great choice. The Device Forts are underappreciated: castle building in a gunpowder-enabled world. Fascinating.
<b>Arundel</b> As a residence it's been maintained and restored beyond my personal ideal (I like a good ruin if you hadn't already guessed!) much as can be said for Leeds and Berkeley. Therefore in my view it's too neat and tidy and has little in the way of charisma. If you want to though, don't let me put you off.

May I also profer some suggestions. Rather than Arundel & Chartwell what about <b>Herstmonceaux</b>? Similarly it's been a residence/observatory/university since restoration but as a brick castle with a moat it is pretty fascinating.
And rather than Hever what about <b>Scotney</b>? You get both a grand country house and seperate ruined mediaeval castle for your money <i>and</i> some of the finest gardens in the British Isles.
If you're going to Deal can you not also squeeze in <b>Dover</b>? Huge, imposing, fantastic. And a Roman lighthouse too. What more could you want?
Talking of Roman what about <b>Pevensey</b>? You could do it with Bodiam. It was a Roman fort, Anglo Saxon fort, Norman encampment and finally a proper Medieaval castle. It was even used for defence in WW2 when Canadian and US troops made some very cleverly hidden pillboxes built into the walls in case the German invasion came (this was their sector of the coast). The Pill boxes are still their but you may need a guidebook to spot them they are that well camouflaged.

I'm asuming the Roman House in Kent is <b>Lullingstone Roman Villa</b>? In which case well ferreted out!! But it's right next door to <b>Eynsford Castle</b> - one of the most intact Norman Castles in England (not that there's masses left to see - but there is plenty) - so it'd be rude not too really, wouldn't it.

Finally - if Roman Villas are your thing then scrub out Arundel entirely and go to <b>Fishbourne Roman Palace</b> instead - the largest Roman Palace discovered north of The Alps. With mosaics to match its status. It's brilliant and breathtaking and why it's not more visited I'll never know. You could top of that day with a visit to the <b>Weald and Downland Open Air Museum</b> but I'll let you Google that yourself to see whether it'd appeal.

Finally, finally - you also might want to look up <b>Richborough Roman Fort</b> (near your Deal Castle trip)and <b>Cromer Castle</b> if you fancy an excuse to visit Rye.

Whatever you decide... have a great time!

Dr D.

As you might have guessed that tooka deal of typing - I'm so slow - and so missed your comments regarding Dover and manors and palaces. Oh well... in that case Blenheim and Chartwell might be just your cup of tea.

Wow Dr D. This is an excellent list! We moved from the US to Ascot, Berks last year and have been talking about visiting some of these places on weekends so thanks for your input!

Like NorCal-Jo i am simply awed by DoGood's awesome post and i agree with his/her take on Leeds Castle - one of the most heavily publicized castles in England it has never lived up to the hype when i visited it.

Judyrem, will you have a Great British Heritage Pass? It gives free admission to all National Trust and English Heritage properties. Here is a link: www.britishheritagepass.com/Welcome

With so many castles, etc, on your list, you could conceivably save a lot of money using the pass. For example, Blenheim alone is L18 for an adult.

Oooooooh such great advice! From Pal (thanks for the thread) AND Dr_Dogood.
Just what I wanted!!! Thanks!!!! Yey!!!
I have 2 books and LOADS of advice. Decisions, decisions.
Yes DrD, it is Lullingstone, and I will do the Eynford castle.
BTW, the other book I have is "Castles and Ancient Monuments of England".
Now I have to figure out routes too, so I won't be backtracking, or running all over the place higgedly piggedly.

Yes Mimar, we have our 7 day passes. So for 7 days it will be full steam ahead! Yikes.
Thank God, my DH is a great goer.
He likes the castles and Roman ruins best.

Do you think I could aqueeze in Avesbury stones for a few hours from Stow?

You mean Stow on the Wold?

It's only 50 miles from Avebury, but I'd allow at least 90 mins each way, and often rather more if you're driving: it's close to impossible by public transport. You CAN easily "do" Avebury in an hour or even less - or allow the best part of a day. There's no "must see" there - but personally I'd be pretty peeved to assign four hours to the travelling. I'd be very inclined to squeeze in a few more bits of prehistory in the general area, like the West Kennet Long Barrow or Silbury Hill.

Chedworth Roman villa is not too far from Stow. And it's nicely set in farmland, so the view is much as in Roman times.

That's what I liked about Bodiam, not only the structure and the moat but the setting in the countryside. Unlike Fishbourne, which though very good, is half-covered by a subdivision.