A 12th century castle near King's Lynn in Norfolk. In the 14th century it was the home of former queen Isabella of France, who died there. It is currently owned and managed by Lord Howard of Rising, a descendant of William d'Aubigny who built the castle.

The following Knightmare scenes were filmed at Castle Rising:

Team 1 and Team 4 of Series 4 approached the keep from the south-east.
Treguard: "Well I don't know how we came here, but I know this place. It's called the Castle of Doom, and it's not inaptly named. The way into Level 2 lies hidden here, but it's unlikely to be unguarded."
Pickle: "The door is locked, by the look of it...
...Another entrance, perhaps?"
Dungeoneer Helen bribed her way past Fatilla here, while Simon blew a horn to scare some goblins.
Team 2 of Series 4 reached the fortress via the gatehouse.
Treguard: "Well, this may be a different route, but I think we know the destination - this is the Castle of Doom."
The gatehouse was manned by Fatilla, who succumbed to flattery in the absence of a bribe.
Approaching the keep from the east. Alistair dropped some aniseed to throw goblins off his scent. This time the main entrance was open.
The first room of Level 2 for many teams in Series 4. Both Mellisandre and Gundrada were found in the stocks here. The exit was via a spiral staircase.
It was used again as a Level 2 clue room for Team 6 of Series 5. The final team of Series 5 fled the room with Hordriss after tempering his staff in Aesandre's blue fire.
The southern basement, where several Series 4 teams found a Level 2 clue table. Also used as a wellway room on one occasion.
A modified version of the same room was used for a Causeway in Series 6.
The doorway led to the northern basement, which was once beneath the Great Hall.
This basement was used for various character encounters in Series 4. The well was sometimes edited out.

It was also seen (with different colouring) in the second series of El Rescate del Talismán, the Spanish version of Knightmare.
The wellway to Level 2 often appeared in a modified version of the same room.
Exit from the northern basement. Mellisandre pointed a couple of dungeoneers in the right direction.
The other end of the northern basement was used for the entrance to the Conveyer Belt or Corridor of Blades. (The gateway itself is from Leeds Castle in Kent.)
In Series 4, Level 3 was accessed via this staircase inside the Tower of Time.
Treguard: "That which we call Level 3 of the greater dungeon must lie somewhere below this fortress. And there must be some way down to it, if only you can find it." (Um... it's right there in front of them!)
The end credits of Series 4 episode 3 featured an Eyeshield sequence walking through the main entrance and up the stairs instead.




Castle Rising is now in the care of English Heritage and is open to the public. Click here to visit the website.

A selection of photographs taken by Jake Collins can be found in Issues 30, 31, 63, 64 and 65 of The Eye Shield. Photographs taken by Canadanne in June 2022 can be found here.

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