Britain's landscape is dotted with quite incredible castles, from towering and imposing masterpieces to crumbling, romantic ruins.

In this week's podcast, we speak to Country Life magazine's Architectural Editor, John Goodall — the man who didn't so much write the book on castles as write a whole bookshelf's worth — to find out which five are his favourites.

John picks out five wonderful examples which show the full range of Britain's architectural legacy: Headingham, Knaresborough, Lancaster, Belvoir (pronounced 'Beaver') and Castle Drogo. And then he throws in a very special extra bonus castle at the end — arguably the greatest castle on the face of the planet, whose fate has been intertwined with that of the Royal Family for 1,000 years.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Producer and Editor: Toby Keel

Guest: John Goodall

Music: 'Summertime' by JuliusH

Special thanks: Adam Wilbourn

Find out more about the podcast and see the episode notes at countrylife.co.uk/podcast

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