Cara's Castles

Bodiam Castle

Bodiam Castle was built around 1385 by Sir Edward Dalyngrygge after he was granted licence from Richard the 2nd to fortify his house (quite a liberal interpretation of fortify his house). The castle is completely surrounded by a moat and was probably one of the last ‘true’ castles to be built.

Bodiam Castle was designed for defence and residential purposes and marks a change in castle design where manor houses were becoming more desirable.

Bodiam Castle’s defences were never seriously tested; the closest was a skirmish in 1484, but the castle was surrendered without a shot being fired.

Bodiam Castle's main entrance.
2 June 2007

The rear entrance to Bodiam Castle. This is where supplies to the castles kitchens were brought in. The bridge has long since gone.
2 June 2007

A view of the inside of Bodiam Castle.
2 June 2007

Looking vertically up one of Bodiam Castle's towers.
2 June 2007

The Wildlife

To our surprise, there was plenty of wildlife to be seen a Bodiam Castle. Here's a quick selection of wildlife photographs captured during our visit.

There was plenty of wildlife at the tea-shop. This cheeky Chaffinch was spotted after catching an insect!
2 June 2007

Upon climbing the first tower in the castle we were confronted with quite a smell and a strange noise. A closer look revealed this bat (Pond Bat). I’m sure it smiled at the camera! Unseen in this picture is the young bat under the wing of its mother. It looks like the younger bat fell from its roost and mum came down to protect it.
More on bats: http://www.sussexbatgroup.org.uk/
2 June 2007

Believe it! There were literally hundreds of fish in the castle moat and quite a few of them are considerably larger that the resident ducks!
2 June 2007