Framlingham (FRAM-ling-um) Castle is one of the best-preserved 12th-century curtain-wall castles in England, on the north side of a small market town in east Suffolk. English Heritage runs it. The wall walk is the reason to come.
The castle in one paragraph
Built by the Bigod family from 1189, the castle carries 13 towers linked by a continuous 12-metre curtain wall you can walk. There is no keep; later buildings inside were mostly demolished by the 17th century, leaving a hollow shell that reads clearly. Mary Tudor was proclaimed queen here in 1553.
Practical details
Adult ticket about £14, English Heritage members free. Car park on Church Street, five minutes’ walk. Allow two hours if you walk the walls and read the panels. The Lanman Museum inside the castle grounds covers local social history.
The market square
Framlingham’s market square is a five-minute walk from the castle car park. The Crown Hotel sits on the east side of the square; Paddy & Scott’s coffee runs a shop on the north side. Ed Sheeran grew up on the outskirts of the town, and Castle on the Hill was written about this view.
Getting there from Ipswich
30 minutes by car on the A12 and B1116. No direct train; the nearest station is Wickham Market, six miles south. Bus 118 from Ipswich runs about every two hours on weekdays, less on weekends. If you are also visiting Sutton Hoo, do the two together in a single day: Sutton Hoo in the morning, Framlingham in the afternoon.