Visited September 2009

Location	Nunney, Somerset
Entrance Fee	No
Railway Station	No
Parking	On Street in village
Facilities	None
Map

Review

Situated in the small Somerset village of Nunney, this mock French Chateau was built in the 1370’s by Sir John De La Mere, a local noble who wanted to show-off his increasing wealth & importance. This deep-moated castle was held by the Royalists in the civil war, but it was  built as a residence, not a fortification so was easily besieged by the Parliamentarians. Now a ruin, it sits quietly in the small village of Nunney, which you cannot help but feel is punching above its weight by having such a castle in its vicinity, when it is not at all geared up for tourism. The castle itself does not take very long to look round, beware with small children as it has a very deep moat. You can walk all the way round the castle on both sides of the moat, and there are some lovely views of the village church to be seen from the windows. Above all it was very quiet, it is not one of English Heritage’s the most visited sites, but at least we did not have to worry about the children being loud and annoying other visitors. Best of all it is free of charge to visit.

The main problem with taking children to this castle is that there are absolutely no facilities, in the castle grounds or it would appear in the village itself. We tried to get some refreshments in the local pub but were told they did not admit children under 14 at all, even for food. They did however take pity on us and let us use the loos. So if you do want to see this very beautiful castle & village then be prepared to cross your legs and drive to the nearest Services for facilities.(On this occasion we found Little Chef to be a sight for sore eyes!)

More info:  English Heritage Nunney Castle