Location : Castle Street, Farnham, Surrey, GU9 0AG

After the interesting stop at Winchester, we decided to carry on and travel to find more about Farnham castle keep. It stands predominant on a hill overlooking the beautiful town of Farnham in all its medieval delights. The keep is surrounded by a large moat and what is now a ‘shell like keep’. It has changed throughout the years and the architecture proves this with its stone moat and the bailey fortresses.

It was founded in 1138 by the famous Henry Blois, whom was a bishop of Winchester and who helped build some of the impressive fortifications of Wolvesey Castle. Later on throughout the years the building was demolished by Henry II in 1155 when civil war hit but thankfully was rebuilt in the late 12th and 13th century.

The keep consists of a large moat that surrounds the castle with a Norman tower that is enclosed by a shell keep and a turreted gatehouse. Perhaps the most striking images for us are the ones of the keep’s drawbridge.

The information that is available on this site really is well written out and explains to you the story of how it came to be and how it still stands so well today. You begin by entering through the keeps drawbridge and walking up the entrance to the keep, you will then experience a lovely panoramic view of Farnham and further. You are able to also see the very deep well that resides in the middle of the keep, this is particularly fascinating as it looks as if it is bottomless.

This site has been taken over by the English Heritage as they have helped fund the castle by funding a Heritage lottery scheme, where they have managed to renovate the bishops palace and the the keep giving it a complete overhaul. You can donate to this fund on your way out of the castle keep, it really makes a difference when they continue to keep this site free to visit for everyone.

There is a free car park adjacent to the keep and it is again well sign posted before you turn into Farnham, my only one thing to note is the steps are quite uneven and just be wary that there are a number of steps to reach the top of the keep, but overall a really great visit, it can be done in an hour but it is definitely worth visiting if you are in the area or passing through for the afternoon.

You can follow our journey and what we are getting up to below.