Stephen Roberts
Cromwell s Castle from the air
- Credit: Historic England
It’s about quality, not quantity. That was my feeling when I delved into Cornish castles. There aren’t oodles; possibly due to being a separatist community in the South West. The Normans were great castle builders, erecting fortresses to cow the defeated English into submission. Perhaps in Cornwall it wasn’t necessary, well, not on such a scale anyway.
There are around 20 castles in the county, which is not a huge number, but there are exquisite examples other counties would give their touristy right arm for. Here follows my countdown of the top eight, and in the best traditions, I will leave best to last.