54 Forts to Explore in United Kingdom

One of the most beautifully located fortresses in England. For over 600 years Dartmouth Castle has guarded the narrow entrance to the Dart Estuary and the busy, vibrant port of Dartmouth. It offers stunning views of the estuary and out to sea and offers a great family day out, whatever the weather. This fascinating complex of defenses was begun in 1388 by John Hawley, privateering Mayor of Dartmouth and the prototype of the flamboyant ‘Shipman’ in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.

This is the iconic island fortress of the Clan Maclean. Situated on the sea cliffs of the Isle of Mull. Brought back from ruin in 1911, the Castle treasures 800 years of history of one of Scotland’s oldest Clans. From 2015, Duart Castle is opening it’s ancient doors and offering a small number of exclusive weddings events.

Dunadd is a hillfort in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, dating from the Iron Age and early medieval period and is believed to be the capital of the ancient kingdom of Dál Riata. Dal Riata was a kingdom, that appeared in Argyll in the early centuries AD, after the Romans had abandoned Scotland.

Duncarnock Fort (known locally as The Craigie) is a 204 m high craggy hill on the banks of Glanderston Dam. There was an iron age fort on the summit, and at present, visitors could enjoy panoramic views over greater Glasgow from the summit. Since 1981 Duncarnock Fort has been classified as a Scheduled Monument in the Scottish Monument Lists.

Edinburgh Castle is a historic fortress dominating the skyline of Edinburgh. It is located on top of Castle Rock, a volcanic lava rock formed 350 million years ago. Edinburgh Castle is Scotland's most and the United Kingdom's second most-visited paid attraction. The castle has undergone 26 sieges in its 1,100 year history. It is beleived to be the most besieged place in Great Britain and one of the most attacked in the world.

Eilean Donan is a small tidal island where three sea lakes meet. Eilean Donan Castle which frequently appears in photographs, film and television dominates the island. The castle was founded in the thirteenth century, and became a stronghold of the Clan Mackenzie and their allies the Clan MacRae. A footbridge connects the island to the mainland.

Epiacum Roman Fort, which is also known by its modern name of Whitley Castle, was built concurrently with Hadrian's Wall. It controlled access along the Maiden Way, an important road connecting that frontier with the wider Roman world, but the primary duties of its garrison would have been to oversee the surrounding lead and silver mines. Unlike most Roman forts that have a "playing-card shape" , Whitley Castle is lozenge-shaped to fit the site.

a 12th century fortification owned by the Constables of Holderness. The site was dominated by a rectangular stone tower that had been built in the mid-fourteenth century and this would have been surrounded by a Great Hall and a host of other ancillary buildings. The tower remained occupied for around 200 years.

A large 18th-century fortress near Ardersier, to the north-east of Inverness in the Highland council area of Scotland. It was built to control the Scottish Highlands in the aftermath of the Jacobite rising of 1745. The current fortress has never been attacked and has remained in continuous use as a garrison. The fort is open to visitors with exhibits and facsimiles showing the fort's use at different periods, while still serving as an army barracks.

Fort Henry was a five-sided, open-bastioned earthen structure covering 10 acres (0.04 km2) on the eastern bank of the Tennessee River, near Kirkman's Old Landing. The site was about one mile above Panther Creek and about six miles below the mouth of the Big Sandy River and Standing Rock Creek. It was a critical point of defense for the Confederacy, protecting Nashville, Tennessee and the railroad route between Bowling Green, Kentucky and Memphis.

Fort Nelson is home to the Royal Armouries' national collection of artillery and historic cannon – the big guns – and is a great day out for all the family. It was built in the 1860s to protect against a potential invasion by the French, which never materialized. You can explore a fully restored Victorian fort with its high ramparts, original fortifications, massive parade ground, and underground tunnels, plus a national museum housing over 700 pieces of artillery from across the world and span

Fort Victoria was built between 1852 and 1855 as one of a series of defences built to protect the western end of the Solent. It was a brick-built triangular fort with two seaward batteries meeting at a right angle. It remained in use until 1962. Parts of the fort were subsequently demolished. The Fort’s brick casemates currently host a series of indoor family attractions including a cafe, reptilarium and planetarium.

Hadrian's Wall is a stone and turf fortification built by the Roman Empire in northern England to stop attacks by Scottish tribes. There were three legions working on it and in 10 years it was nearly finished. Set amongst the wild beauty of Cumbrian and Northumbrian landscapes, it still impresses today and stands as a testimony to the power and reach of the mighty Roman Empire. Today you can explore the Wall’s rich history and its dramatic landscape at over 20 fascinating sites.

The fort at Hardknott has established early in the second century AD: a fragmentary inscription, dating from the reign of the Emperor Hadrian, from the south gate records the garrison as the Fourth Cohort of Dalmatians, from the Balkans. One of the highest Roman forts in Britain is set amid dramatic scenery on a notoriously difficult road.

A majestic fort built in 1808 to defend the port of Harwich against a Napoleonic invasion. It is 200 feet in diameter, is surrounded by a deep ditch and can only be entered by one removable drawbridge. Part of the fort is now used as a military museum and battle re-enactments and other events are held during the summer months. The fort was restored by the Harwich Society as a voluntary project.

Housesteads is the best preserved of the thirteen permanent Roman army posts along the length of Hadrian's Wall, the famous barrier built to keep the northern tribes out of the settled Roman south. The site is owned by the National Trust and is in the care of English Heritage. Finds can be seen in the site museum, in the museum at Chesters, and in the Great North Museum: Hancock in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Inverness Castle sits on a cliff overlooking the River Ness in Inverness, Scotland. The red sandstone structure, displaying an early castellated style, is the work of a few nineteenth-century architects. There has been a castle on this site for many centuries. Until the 30th of March 2020 it housed Inverness Sheriff Court. In April 2017 the north tower of the castle was opened to the public as a view point. At present, only the castle grounds and the north tower are open to the public.

A majestic ruin of a fortress, a comfortable residence and later a garrison stronghold, and contains the oldest surviving barracks on the British mainland. It was built in the mid-1400s, and it remained the base of the mighty Campbells of Glenorchy for 150 years. It is now in the care of Historic Environment Scotland and is open to the public in summer.

Landguard Fort is the site of the last opposed seaborne invasion of England in 1667 and the first land battle of the Royal Marines. The fort was considered part of Essex in the 18th and 19th centuries; births and deaths within the garrison were recorded as 'Landguard Fort, Essex'. It was manned through both World Wars and played an important anti-aircraft role during the Second World War. In 1951 two of the old gun casemates were converted into a 'Cold War' control room. The fort was disarmed a

Lunt Roman Fort in Baginton was a Roman military camp created in around AD 60 or 61 to deal with the revolt of Boudica and/or its aftermath. It is open to the public and located in the village of Baginton on the south eastern outskirts of Coventry. The fort has now been fully excavated and partially reconstructed; the wooden gateway rebuild was led by archaeologist Margaret Rylatt, using the same tools and techniques that the military engineers of the Roman Army would have used.