Photos from walk on Thursday 5th October from Hampstead Norreys exploring the western area

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Hampstead Norreys Castle is a Norman motte and bailey castle overlooking the village of Hampstead Norreys. The motte is 25m wide, and 4.2m high, made of chalk. The contours of the top suggest that a timber tower or defensive structure was built on the motte. The site was originally believed to be a tumulus, until later work confirmed its Norman origins. [source]

 

Eling Wood, with the castle to the right

 

Trumpletts Farm

 

We crossed a field with lots of flowers like this: Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum)

 

The big hill of the day

 

In the hedgerow, probably a leafhopper of some sort. Tiny, maybe 2-3mm

 

And a White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis)

 

Fungi season again, but I’m struggling with ID. Best guess is Weeping Widow (Lacrymaria lacrymabunda)

 

At the top of the hill a look back to Perborough Castle Hill Fort (right up on the top)

 

Back in Hampstead Norreys, the Old Railway Bridge

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More on Perborough Castle, which has no public access. There’s a detailed account of its origins and excavation here.

 

Historic England includes a terrain-shaded image of Perborough Castle at Compton, West Berkshire, made using a one metre bare-earth terrain model detrended to ‘flatten’ underlying hills and valleys. The bounds of the Scheduled Monument are outlined in red.

 

The DEFRA terrain model is © Crown Copyright 2020, released as Government Open Data. The Ordnance Survey woodland polygons are © Crown Copyright 2020, released as Government Open Data.

 

The Ordnance Survey (1888-1913) Map of the site can be found here.

 

According to folklore, or whatever you call tall stories without any evidence to back them up, there is a golden calf buried in the fort. If you must, read more here.

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