Castle View Visitor Centre - A351, Corfe Castle, Dorset, UK - Nature Centers on Waymarking.com

Owned, managed and operated by The National Trust this centre provides an ideal display in conjunction with the nearby Corfe Castle. The car park surrounds the building and is free for National Trust members to use. The centre is free for everyone to enjoy.

The Purbeck landscape is described in detail with the dry-stone walls and lowland heaths, local stone and farming techniques. There are some masonry parts from Corfe Castle itself including a bit of a sheep's jaw found in the keep wall. The emphasis from the displays is of conservation and protection of the environment.

Child-friendly interactive displays show life as it would have been in the castle when it was intact and lived in. The servants are detailed with a rotating element demonstrating their roles and skills. A flip-chart display includes how to fire a cannon.

On the Corfe Castle Estate is Boar Mill and an exhibit details finds from the site with illustrative plans. Educational panels include 'Herbs and Health' with medieval cures and there is even a panel in a medieval waste pit (toilet) with various worms found in your gut. You can test your skills with the spinning 'Kill or Cure' machine on medieval medicine.

Archaelogical discoveries are shown with a panel piecing them together and the different stones found in the locality can be touched, lifted and examined in their boxes. Purbeck Marble is described from its quarries to its use around the world. A large ammonite can be seen on display in the main entrance.

Outside The National Trust are building a small 'wattle and daub' structure to demonstrate the old techniques from the medieval period. There is a small building and an oven which utilise wood, clay and straw as poor people would have had access to these local materials.

The centre also offers 'Adventures in Stone' where you can get hands-on with stone carving. The Study Room is also popular and described here: visit link

'Castle View Visitor Centre houses the award-winning Study Room packed with activities to bring Corfe Castle's turbulent past to life. The activities are ideally suited to Key Stage 1, 2 and early KS3, led by National Trust staff and volunteers. Children can try medieval building technology, sort archaeological finds, and complete jigsaw puzzles of medieval scenes. They can wear royal apparel, peasant garb or the arms and armour of a medieval or Civil War soldier.

Replica pitch-lined leather buckets, medieval pattens (shoes) and authentic aromatic herbs complete this unforgettable experience of castle life. National Trust staff and volunteers can lead guided tours of the castle to complement the study room experience. The public Visitor Centre adjacent to the Study Room has interactive displays illustrating the story of the Castle within the Isle of Purbeck. The Study Room is also a good base for studies of Corfe Castle village for any age.'

Hours: From: 10:00 AM To: 5:30 PM Open Year Round?: yes Interpretive Programs?: yes Live Animal Displays: no

Visit Instructions:
Visitors should visit the Nature Center and post a photo of themselves (or GPS unit) either inside or outside of the nature center visited. Logs without photos WILL be allowed if a lenghty description of one's visit and a mention of what they learned is included.

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