Our Blog - Summer 2024 Trip - Deal Castle, England

Just up the road from Walmer castle is another castle in the coastal town of Deal. You can actually walk on a path along the water (the North Sea) between the two in about 30 minutes (1.4 miles or so). This castle is much more fort-like than Walmer castle, which is more residence-like. The two were built by King Henry VIII about the same timeframe, between 1539 and 1540, as part of the King's program to protect against invasion from France and the Holy Roman Empire.

The castle retains most of its original 16th-century structure, including a tall keep with 6 semi-circular bastions, flanked by 6 more rounded bastions (one of which served as a gatehouse). It is surrounded by a moat (now grass) and a curtain wall. The castle's bastion walls are 15 feet thick, so you can imagine how difficult it would be to penetrate them.

The castle originally had 4 tiers of artillery – the heaviest and longest-range weapons occupying 66 firing positions on the upper levels, and 53 gunloops in the basement for handguns, should close defense be required.

We only walked around the outside, like at Walmer Castle, as dogs were not allowed.

We went out to the beach for a minute but, unlike the beach at Broadstairs where we were staying, this beach is all pebbles, so not the best surface to play on.