Cool Place of the Day: Bodiam Castle, East Sussex

Every day, a new place to discover or explore from coolplaces.co.uk

Bodiam Castle looks much as it would have done 600 years ago (NTPL/)

From the outside, Bodiam Castle, by the river Rother in Sussex, looks much as it would have done 600 or so years ago when the wealthy Sir Edward Dalyngrigge had it built – every inch a proper castle, with a wide moat and turreted towers bristling with arrow slits. Inside the castle walls little remains of Dalyngrigge’s living quarters – the Parliamentarians gutted it during the Civil War – but enough original features remain to spark the imagination, including the original wooden portcullis (possibly the oldest in the country) and the “murder holes” in the gatehouse, through which boiling oil and water could be poured on to the heads of the enemy.

Winding staircases lead up to the battlements, which give fabulous views out over the Sussex countryside and down to the castle courtyard below. Once you’ve exhausted the castle and eaten your fill, there are any number of things to do nearby – from cruises and canoeing on the river to trips on the Kent and East Sussex Steam Railway, which stops at the station on the opposite bank.

Cool Places is a website from the creators of Rough Guides and Cool Camping, suggesting the best places to stay, eat, drink and shop in Britain (coolplaces.co.uk).