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Stafford Castle

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Our view

"A short walk from Stafford town around one of the county’s oldest monuments."

Walk directions

From the roundabout by Broad Eye Windmill head away from the town, over the river. After 100yds (91m) turn left along Castle Street, over the railway, and continue ahead on a cycle path to a roundabout. Cross and walk along the path, which soon joins the road on its left.

Cross over, turn right, then bear left by a line of trees, going left again at a footpath sign. Bear left here, keeping the houses to your right. Follow the gravel track up the middle of the golf course and, at the very top, keep going straight across the field ahead, following a faint grass path to the bottom left corner of the woods below the castle. A gap leads into the woods.

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Location

Nearest postcode:

Additional information

Terrain - Pavement, gravel tracks and grass trails

Landscape - Town, golf course, hilltop and farmland

Dog friendliness - Keep on lead near livestock

Parking - Doxey Road pay-and-display at start; also at the castle

Toilets en route - Stafford Castle visitor centre and in town centre

Walks in Staffordshire

About the walk

In the 11th century, a castle was built on the hill to the west of Stafford by William the Conqueror to keep rebellious Saxons in check. It was at this time that the substantial earthworks you can see around the present-day castle were built. They involved a series of avenues, deep ditches, steep... slopes and an impressive motte, or steep-sided earth mound, at the centre of the castle complex. Today, it’s possible to take a tour of these earthworks by following a series of excellent information panels around the site, and with the help of sketches it’s not hard to imagine how the castle may have looked. Initially the site was more of a hilltop settlement, with wooden ramparts built in concentric rings behind a series of deep ditches. The castle proper would have been a three-storey timber keep on the motte, which doubled as the lord’s residence and his military headquarters. The timber may have been plastered and painted to look like stone, to fool any approaching enemies as well as to resist fire. It wasn’t until the middle of the 14th century that Ralph, Lord Stafford, built the first stone castle on the site. It stayed in the family until 1521, when Henry VIII had Edward Stafford executed on a dubious charge of treason (he actually had a distant claim to the throne). The Staffords recovered their property and titles 25 years later but failed to recover their fortune. By the end of the 16th century the castle was in ruins, and remained so until the Civil War broke out in 1642. Isabel, Lady Stafford, was requested by Charles I to defend the castle against Parliamentary forces, and successfully resisted months of siege. The castle continued to be neglected until Sir George Jerningham had the ruin cleared of debris in the early 19th century and rebuilt the eastern towers in what was an early example of Gothic revival architecture. The lords and ladies of the mid-19th century were a romantic bunch and liked nothing better than to dress up their summer piles as Gothic follies complete with pointed arches and mock battlements. Alas, Sir George never got around to the rest of the renovation and the castle has been more or less neglected ever since. In 1961, a boy playing on the remaining stonework was tragically killed by a collapsing window. The reaction of the local council was to demolish the upper part of the building, although they resisted calls to demolish the entire thing on the basis that it might still contain some of the original 14th-century masonry. Indeed, excavations begun in 1974 have shown this to be the case. The castle is preserved now, with a visitor centre providing a useful insight into the chronicle of the castle, and in particular its Norman founders.

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About the area

Staffordshire features lofty moors, deep dales and tremendous views of both. Further south are the six sprawling towns that make up Stoke-on-Trent, which historically have had such an impact on Staffordshire’s fortunes, not to mention its culture and countryside.

Route details

Difficulty:

Medium

Gradient:

Gentle

Distance:

4 miles (6.4kms)

Ascent:

240ft (73m)

If you like this walk, you can try more routes in the area.

Find more walks in Staffordshire

Stafford Castle

Recommended by

Our view

"A short walk from Stafford town around one of the county’s oldest monuments."

Walk details

Difficulty:

Medium

Gradient:

Gentle

Distance:

4 miles (6.4kms)

Ascent:

240ft (73m)

Walk directions

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2 of 4

The path left leads to the visitor centre, but first, keep up ahead for the castle’s self-guided walk (0.75 miles/1.2km) following signboards in a spiral up to the stone keep. Descend the tarmac track to the visitor centre. This is packed with information on the Norman Conquest and features a short film on the history of the castle. There’s also a shop selling snacks, souvenirs and guides. From the visitor centre head uphill a few steps, then turn right on the wide path above the bottom of the wood to the gap (Point 3), then skirt left around the outside of the wood. At the corner of the wood, go through a hedge and turn right down the field-edge path, with the hedge on your right. Descending through these fields serves to illustrate how tough it must have been for Saxon forces to charge in the opposite direction; even assuming they survived the onslaught of arrows from Norman longbows, by the time they got anywhere near the castle they’d have been absolutely spent.

3 of 4

At the foot of the field, with a pond just ahead, turn left above a tall ivy hedge, then cross a field. Cross a second field with a hedge on your left, then turn hard right on a wide track. Follow this downhill, then round to the right (you can use an old railbed alongside on the left here). When the track runs out, bear right onto a road and keep left across a roundabout. Just before the next roundabout head left on the cycle path, retracing your steps back into Stafford.

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Location

Starting point

Nearest postcode:

Additional information

Terrain - Pavement, gravel tracks and grass trails

Landscape - Town, golf course, hilltop and farmland

Dog friendliness - Keep on lead near livestock

Parking - Doxey Road pay-and-display at start; also at the castle

Toilets en route - Stafford Castle visitor centre and in town centre

Walks in Staffordshire

About the walk

Been on this walk?

Send us photos or a comment about this route. Or recommend a route of your own.

Find out more

Walking in Safety

Read our tips to look after yourself and the environment when following this walk.

Learn more

Get an AA guide

Explore our range of ‘50 Walks in’ guides - they’re the ideal companion for a ramble.

Learn more

Been on this walk?

Send us photos or a comment about this route. Or recommend a route of your own.

Find out more

Walking in Safety

Read our tips to look after yourself and the environment when following this walk.

Learn more

Get an AA guide

Explore our range of ‘50 Walks in’ guides - they’re the ideal companion for a ramble.

Learn more

About the area

Staffordshire

Stafford Castle

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Walking in Safety

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Stafford Castle

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