Hurst Castle

On Saturday I visited Hurst Castle, a place full of history as well as beautiful views of the South Coast and the Isle of Wight. There are two ways you can get over to the castle, you can walk the 1.5 miles from Milford-On-Sea on the shingle spit or take a ferry which leaves every 20 minutes from Keyhaven or Hurst. We opted for the ferry from Keyhaven which took about 10 minutes and cost £5.50 for a return each.

Once we arrived we were amazed at the size of the castle; two large wings were built in the Napoleonic wars and they surround the original castle built by Henry VIII. Due to its diverse history there is plenty to explore, including barracks and shell stores from its time as a manned fortress during World War II, large 38 ton guns from the Napoleonic wars, the area that Charles I was thought to be imprisoned before his trial and execution in London and much more.

It took us a good hour and half to make our way round the Henry VIII part of the castle as there was a lot to look at. Most of the rooms were accessible and once you had climbed to the top of the castle there were amazing views over to Milford and the Isle of Wight, making it the perfect photo opportunity. We then made our way over to the other wing which featured more of the World War II historical items and rooms such as the laundry, barracks and a theatre which is thought to be the only surviving World War 2 ENSA theatre.

I would recommend Hurst Castle as place to visit if you are staying at one of our parks; it does take quite a while to explore fully and some of the rooms are completely empty which means you do have to use your imagination a bit. However, it is a very important historical landmark and very much worth a visit especially for the views.

 You can see more photos on our Facebook page. WI