Berkeley Castle

Berkeley Castle sits in the small town of Berkeley, about eight miles south-west of Dursley, and holds a claim that very few buildings in Britain can match: it has been continuously inhabited by the same family — the Berkeleys — since the late 12th century, making it the oldest building in England still occupied by the family who built it.

The pink-stone Norman keep at its core dates to around 1153, and it is this keep that contains the cell where Edward II was held captive and almost certainly murdered in 1327, after being deposed by his wife and her lover. The room is still there, and you can stand in it.

Beyond that singular historical weight, the castle is full of genuine material: state apartments with medieval tapestries, family silver in the dining room, a painted ceiling in the Morning Room (the former chapel), Tudor-era furniture, military banners in the Great Hall, and archives dating back to 1154 with around 25,000 documents still housed on site.

The terraced gardens were partially designed by Gertrude Jekyll at the turn of the 20th century, and include an Elizabethan bowling green where Elizabeth I is said to have played during a royal visit.

The castle opens from late March to early November, Sundays to Wednesdays, 11am to 5pm (last entry 4pm). Guided tours of the interior run daily at 12pm and 2pm and last just over an hour, worth it for the detail the guides provide on the darker episodes.

A butterfly house on the grounds runs from May to September, housing around 42 species and the Atlas Moth, the world's largest moth. There is also a walled kitchen garden restaurant on site.

The castle is not a heritage-board attraction: it is still a private family home, which changes the atmosphere considerably. Accessibility is limited in parts given the medieval fabric, so worth checking ahead if that matters.