Castle Acre, Castle & Bailey Gate — Attraction in King's Lynn and West Norfolk

Great Historical place The village is best known today for the twin ruins of Castle Acre Castle and Castle Acre Priory, which lie immediately to the east and west of the village respectively. Both were founded soon after the Norman Conquest by William de Warenne, the first Earl of Surrey. At its heyday, Castle Acre played an important role in the affairs of the State, with many visits from royalty. Castle Acre itself was once a fortified town and still possesses one of its gates, the Bailey Gate. When first established, Castle Acre was one of the finest examples of Norman town planning in the country, and much of this can still be seen.3]

The civil parish has an area of 13.18 km2 (5.09 sq mi) and in the 2001 census had a population of 799 in 370 households, the population increasing to 848 at the 2011 Census.[4] The parish shares boundaries with the adjacent parishes of Rougham, Great Massingham, West Acre, South Acre, Newton by Castle Acre and Lexham. The parish falls within the district of King's Lynn and West Norfolk. Local government responsibilities are shared between the parish, district and county councils.[5 Castle Acre forms part of the North West Norfolk constituency in the House of Commons. Norfolk County Council is responsible for roads, some schools, and social services, and the county councillor for the Gayton division, including Castle Acre, is Graham Robin Middleton (Conservative).

The village lies some 0.5 miles (0.80 km) west of the A1065 Mildenhall to Fakenham road, but is clearly visible from the road. The hamlet of Fiddler's Green lies to the northeast of...

This is a fabulous example of a Ruined Norman Castle situated in the heart of the historic village of Castle Acre, Norfolk. The site is owned and run by the English Heritage and is free entry to get into but makes for an excellent walk around. On the walk around you can visit the main site of the Castle Building which looks very commanding and imposing in relation to the rest of the site and the ruins of the main Castle Building are spectacular but also there are some more which are beautifully concealed in the main heart. There are some interesting and informative information boards dotted around the site detailing its history and the main features. You can also walk around the Moat at the base of the main Castle Building again marvelling at its commanding presence and see a more impressive perspective of the ruins at the top of the mound. The best of the features in relation to the Castle is far by the Bailey Gate which is situated in the centre of the village of Castle Acre and the Bailey Gate blends in very well with the other historic buildings and also you get the idea of its historical presence in the village and also relevance. Overall this is a great historical Castle to visit and have a relaxing walk around. Definitely worth a visit and worth doing whilst...

We came to Castle Acre to visit the priory ruins, but it would be a bit odd to come and then not visit the castle area?! Glad we did, it made an already good visit even better! Kids loved climbing the mounds and up the castle, we ran around and pretended to be attacking the castle, a great time had by all! Looks like this would have been an incredibly impressive building.

We walked the short walk from the priory, but there was a small car park next to it as well. No facilities that we saw though...!

Best bit... the castle ruins...