The dramatic ruins of William the Conqueror’s first stronghold sit 5 miles east of Eastbourne, just off the A259. Regular train services between London Victoria and Hastings via Eastbourne stop at Westham, half a mile from Pevensey. Picturesquely dissolving into its own moat, the castle marks the point where William the Conqueror landed in 1066, just two weeks before the Battle of Hastings. He wasted no time after his landing, building upon sturdy Roman walls to fashion this castle.
The castle was gainfully employed time and again through the centuries, right up to WWII, when it bristled with machine-gun nests while serving as a command and observation post in preparation for a Nazi invasion. You have to pay to enter the Inner Bailey of the castle itself, but not to wander around within the outer walls.