Taunton Castle

The castle sits slap in the middle of Taunton's town centre, a proper stronghold that's hard to miss. Red sandstone walls rise above the surrounding streets, and it's immediately clear this isn't just a ruin - it's been genuinely cared for. Built by the Normans around 1100, the place has seen everything: royal visits, civil war action, and a good few centuries of Somerset life happening around it.

You can walk the grounds for free, which is the bit most people do. The walls are impressive enough, and there's something satisfying about circling a medieval fortress on a weekday afternoon when it's quiet. The main tower dominates the view, and on a clear day you can get decent sightlines across the town.

If you're staying at Cornish Farm Touring Park or Ashe Farm just a couple of miles out, it's absolutely worth the short drive into town for this. It takes maybe forty minutes to properly have a look around, longer if you sit on one of the benches inside and actually read the information boards. Kids won't be mesmerised for hours - it's not that kind of place - but the walls are climbable and the space is open enough that they can run about without you losing your mind.

The castle houses a museum inside (check opening hours locally as they vary), which covers local history and the Somerset Militia. It's decent but not unmissable. The real appeal is simply the physical presence of the thing - eight centuries of stone and authority in an ordinary market town.