A magical start to the day at Clun Castle

It looks like a watercolour painting, but this was dawn at the border castle of Clun in south Shropshire.

A magical start to the day at Clun Castle

I had got up at 3.30 on what was a surprisingly chilly morning hoping to photograph the castle surrounded by mist - and that’s exactly what I got.

It takes an hour to drive to Clun, so it was a relief that it all worked out in the end.

When things don’t go to plan, the journey back home always seems a lot longer!

Clun Castle was founded shortly after the Norman Conquest of 1066 and sits on a rocky mound overlooking the town.

Unusually, the castle's tall 13th century keep is set on the side of the mound.

This romantic ruin is thought to have inspired the fortress known as Garde Doleureuse in Sir Walter Scott’s novel The Betrothed, which he wrote while staying at the Buffalo Inn in the Square.

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