Farleigh-Hungerford castle was quiet a different experience from that at Nunney. The castle is set apart from the nearest village and is a rolling expanse of ruins rather than the compact, well preserved castle we found at Nunney. However, there was an excellent audio guide that came with the entry, which explained the castles history and the rather intriguing actions of some of its residents. The castle was built by Sir Thomas Hungerford in the 14th century and was expanded upon by later generations. The castle is involved in stories of murder and imprisonment, as well as family battles over loyalty to the crown. The castle passed in and out of the Hungerford family a few times but was finally lost by a spendthrift descendent in the late 1600's. One of the best features was the chapel with magnificent tombs, in stone and marble, as well as wall paintings, some from the Victorian era and one massive figure of knight thought to be 600 years old. There was also a crypt with rare lead coffins including two for children. It was an excellent visit despite a downpour in the middle. We also took a nice walk along the river that runs by the castle before heading through Bath and back to Bristol.
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