After visiting Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove, my group and I decided to stop in a small village nearby: Corfe Castle.

Corfe Castle is a small village located in the Purbeck Peninsula, halfway between Wareham to the north and Swanage to the south of the picturesque Dorset County. It is a place that has all the characteristics of a fairy tale landscape: pointed roofs, stone houses lined up on the river, the Roman bridge and the green, the dominant colour that alternates between the houses and the hills. The whole thing is wedged harmoniously, like a perfect puzzle and then there is he who dominates the hill. It is the undisputed protagonist of this scenario: the castle or rather what remains of it, its ruins! To better enjoy the view we found a path on the green relief adjacent and from there we were conquered by the echo of its events.

It was William the Conqueror who began the construction of the castle in 1066 in this strategic position. Since then and for the next five centuries battles, mysteries and plots linked to the history of England have intertwined inside and outside its walls, but undoubtedly the figure of its castellan par excellence is linked to the name of Lady Mary Bankes. In the 16th century the manor was sold first to the Royal Chancellor and then to John Bankes. A royalist with government posts and husband of Lady Mary. Then, in August 1642, the English Civil War began; the conflict was the result of years of disputes between the Crown and Parliament over who would hold supreme power over the government of England, Wales and Ireland. Shortly thereafter, in 1643, Lady Mary assumed control of Corfe Castle as the king had sent her husband John to York, to join the royalist army. The woman enslaved in the castle with her daughters, servants and five other men waiting for a sure attack of the parliamentary army. Then in May of the same year, a department of two or three hundred men attacked the castle but without success, despite the disparity of forces. Mary took direct part in the defence by throwing stones and burning coal from the ramparts to counter the enemy forces, repelling them even with cannon fire. Thanks to the support of a hundred Royalist soldiers, Mary managed to hold out for three years until one of her men betrayed her, leading a group of parliamentarians disguised as royalists inside the fortress. At that point Mary was induced to surrender but her courage had definitely impressed the enemies who allowed her to leave with the keys of the castle (now they are kept in Kingstone Lacy always in Dorset ). Finally, a legend tells Mary threw the family treasures into the well to prevent them from becoming a spoil of war. Thecastlewas then blown up by Mps with gunpowder and was never rebuilt.

At the foot of the hill where the ruins of Corfe Castle stand, lies the beautiful village of the same name, built in grey stone of Purbeck, a high-quality limestone material made from a series of rock layers that can be traced back to a period between 155 and 45 million years ago, in what was then a landscape of shallow seas and brackish lagoons. This particular type of stone gives the houses a considerable solidity and a particularly millennial aspect that today’s inhabitants have embellished with colourful doors, pretty windows embellished with colourful flowers, Tea rooms and antique shops that together with the spectacular hilly setting, characterize the picturesque village.

To complete this fairy-tale atmosphere is also added a steam train visible inside one of the historic railway stations of the United Kingdom, worthy of a visit. It is a recreation of the 50s complete with old radio and newspapers. From here you can admire the ruins of the castle. The route is operated by the Swanage Railway and it takes about 20 minutes to get to the city of Swanage, the ticket costs £15.