Skipton Castle
Skipton North Yorkshire BD23 1AW
The market town of Skipton is dominated by its castle, one of the best preserved medieval buildings in the UK, first built almost a thousand years ago to repel the Scots on their frequent incursions into northern England. Battered and besieged during the Civil War – it was long a royalist stronghold – the castle was then largely restored in the seventeenth century by Lady Anne Clifford, a formidable historical figure from one of England's most famous families. All this and more you'll learn on the self-guided tour which starts through the mighty gatehouse, located at the top of Skipton's High Street, and shows you everything from kitchens and dungeons to lordly bedchambers. School and summer holidays are a good time to come, with the castle often given over to re-enactments, battles and living history displays.
