Deal Castle

Deal Castle is a dramatic circular fortress standing just above the shingle beach, built by Henry VIII in 1540 as part of his coastal defences against French invasion. Its unusual flower-shaped design with multiple rounded bastions was specifically engineered to mount cannon in all directions, a cutting-edge military design for the period.

You can walk through the gatehouse and explore the spiral staircases, gun emplacements, and the narrow corridors between the concentric rings of the castle. Inside, displays explain the fort's role in the English Civil War, when it changed hands several times, and its later use as a barracks. The ground floor has information about Tudor naval warfare and the threats that prompted its construction.

The castle sits at the heart of Deal's seafront and provides good views along the coastline. It's a substantial structure to explore and one of the finest surviving examples of Tudor military architecture in England.