The present impressive ruins of this late-medieval castle contain certain sections of the walls of the hall, the buttery, pantry, kitchen and solar but are above all dominated by a magnificent 24-metre (80-foot) high tower, built by William, Lord Hastings, between 1474 and 1483. Hastings Tower was slighted (split in two) during the Civil War, but still offers the visitor panoramic views of the surrounding country-side. Ashby was used by Sir Walter Scott for the famous jousting scene in his classic romance Ivanhoe.
Bolsover Castle has dominated the landscape and caught the imagination of its visitors for four centuries. The house you see today stands on the site of a medieval castle built shortly after the Norman Conquest by the Peveril family. Sir Charles Cavendish bought the old castle and began the project of building the present `Little Castle` in 1612, which, despite its embattled appearance, was designed for elegant living rather than for defence.
Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire, although a ruin, is one of England's finest castles and is interwoven with English history. The castle was formerly owned by Robert Dudley, who was one of Elizabeth I favourites and whom entertained the Queen here in the 16th century having restored the castle to among the most greatest and most glamorous of its time.
The picturesque remains - including the fine gatehouse and a complete corner tower - of a moated, brick-built fortified mansion begun in 1480 by Lord Hastings, but left unfinished after his execution by Richard III in 1483.
The Castle, firstly a Norman Fortress and extended over the centuries to become a fortified Royal Palace, has ensured Ludlow's place in English history - originally built to hold back unconquered Welsh, passing through generations of the de Lacy and Mortimer families to Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York
Stokesay Castle is the finest and best preserved 13th century fortified manor house in England. It offers visitors a unique glimpse into a distant age, when strength and elegance were combined. Set amid peaceful countryside near the Welsh border, Stokesay Castle forms an outstandingly picturesque group with its timber-framed gatehouse and the parish church.
The Castle has been the most important factor in the history of the town. In the iron age, about 2,500 years ago, Tutbury was a hill fort. When the inhabitants of the time found a suitable site, they would make their village on a hill - a few timbers and mud huts - and then protect it by a surrounding ditch and bank. As for the view, Mary herself, described Tutbury as sitting squarely on top of a mountain in the middle of a plain, as a result of which it was entirely exposed to all the winds and "injures" of heaven.
Warwick Castle dates back almost 1,100 years. In 914AD Ethelfleda, daughter of Alfred the Great, ordered the building of a 'burh' or an earthen rampart to protect the small hill top settlement of Warwick from Danish invaders. There are also a number of special events taking place throughout the year
