Canterbury Castle

Fujifilm X-E1, 14mm, Lightroom, Silver Efex Pro 2

Got a nice early start and found myself in town before 6am - a lovely mild, dry morning with a full moon and scudding clouds. I parked on Castle Street and walked up to the old castle keep - floodlit at night, and I thought it would make a good picture with the moon and rapidly moving clouds in the background.

Here comes the history bit - this was originally a Norman era castle built after the Battle of Hastings in 1066 as a wooden motte and bailey structure. The large stone keep was constructed during the reign of Henry I (1068-1135) as one of three royal castles in Kent, the other two being in Rochester and Dover. It is made from flint and sandstone rubble. In the 13th century it became the county gaol, and later, in the 19th century was acquired by a gas company and used as a gas storage centre with a lot of damage to the upper level. Indeed, one of the small alleys nearby is amusingly called Gas Passage! These days the castle is owned by the city council and is open to the public all year round as a tourist attraction.