The south of England is full of historic sites and most of them are in impeccable condition. One of those sites is Lewes Castle and the old town. Lewes Castle is one of the old Norman fortifications and was defending the southern coast from invaders. William the Conqueror basically wanted to stop others do what he did: invade England. He ordered the construction of various stone castles, including Dover, Hastings, Pevensey and Arundel, among others. What he did was quite simple, he brought over his best pals from Normandy and gave them huge swaths of land but in return asked them to build fortifications.
Lewes Castle is a pretty good example of medieval architecture and a lot of the walls remain intact. The views from the castle walls are also quite stunning, covering much of the rolling east Sussex hills. If you are in London for a week, I would highly recommend a weekend visit to the south coast, starting in Hastings and then driving along to Arundel. This video series will help you do that, and by the end of it you will have learned a lot about English history! Check below the video for my advice on where to go.
What I would recommend is this:
- Start your trip in Hastings and visit the old pirate town and castle
- Drive to Pevensey and visit the old Norman fortifications
- Go to Lewes to visit the Old Town and the castle
- Jump in the car and don’t stop until Arundel Castle, the most stunning castle in the UK
- Drive up to Kingston in London to visit Hampton Court
This will give you a good grounding in English history and also help you understand the goings-on of Henry III’s court.
If you enjoyed this post and want to read a similar story, scroll down to see the related posts section. My Youtube Channel also contains several other videos. I shot them during my trips to Russia, Australia, Turkey, Europe and various other parts of the world.