Castle Acre

Up at six for the drive to Cambridge where I was running a training group. A bit of an effort to get up but setting off into a clear morning on empty roads is a joy. I stopped a couple of times along the way to take a picture of this and that - none of them too brilliant this morning. My mind is mostly on the weekend I am still planning in my head.
So this is a rather dull shot of Castle Acre from the main road; but the place itself is fascinating and well worth a visit.

The following information is from Wikipedia:

Castle Acre Castle is the remains of a motte and bailey castle, with extensive earthworks, at Castle Acre, Norfolk.  
The castle was founded soon after the Norman Conquest of 1066 by William de Warenne, the first Earl of Surrey, as his most important estate in Norfolk. The original castle was restructured around the 1140s. The settlement is strategically placed where the ancient trackway known as the Peddar's Way crossed the River Nar. To the west of the castle was a planned town; the whole settlement was fortified. The riverside location was important both for defence and for river-borne supplies, in an age when road transport was extremely difficult.
The castle was of motte-and-bailey construction; on the summit of the motte was the residence of the owner, and the last refuge in the event of an attack. The bailey below contained living quarters, stores and workshops. A strong curtain wall with wall walks surrounds the motte summit, and a lesser wall tops the bailey banks.