Little remains above ground of the castle which gave the town its name, but the roots run deeply across the northern end of the settlement. Around a community garden, a few low lines of masonry mark where the ramparts once stood. In the streets below, the story is preserved in the alignment of lanes and steep, cobbled passages.
The pavements are still slick from the earlier rain, and wood smoke drifts from chimneys as the cold of late afternoon begins to bite. The narrow High Street morphs into Church Street as the road makes long, sinuous curves between the mix of small shops and houses – leading down to the squat Norman tower of St John’s church.
