Top 4 Castles around Ormside

St Anne's hospital and almshouse. created by Lady Anne Clifford in the 17th century

you can't visit the castle unless booked in

Nice place to take a break

This was a fortified house, built around 1415 by the Wharton family. The family extended the property in the mid-16th century. A deer park was established, requiring the relocation of an entire village nearby. This is a Grade-I protected building these days, as well as a scheduled monument. Appreciate from the outside: this is a private property (the north and west side of it is used nowadays as a farm; the rest is ruins).

Appleby in Westmorland is a small market town in the Eden valley. It's overlooked by the Pennine range to the east and there are views across to the Lake District in the west. The town has a good selection of shops and cafes. At the northern end of the wide main street is the Moot Hall dated at 1596. The Norman Appleby castle is a private home but is open to the public to visit, stay and eat. Check www.applebycastle.org for opening times, prices and events. It's a great stop or base on a bike ride around north-eastern Cumbria.

Great base for climbing Great Dun Fell with great cafes for recovery after you have done the climb, picturesque little town as well.

Style to left of gate hidden by nettle's

This magnificent castle, standing proud above the Eden Valley, was built at the behest of William II after he had driven the Scots out of Westmorland in 1092. Caesar's Tower is the oldest part of the building, the top of which gives splendid views of the surrounding countryside. Like so many in the region, the castle was owned by the Cliffords. The great hall once displayed 'the Great Picture', a triptych showing Lady Anne as a teenager on the left, then as an elder on the right, with her family in the middle. The artwork is now on display at the Abbot Hall Gallery and Museum, Kendal.