The owner of a castle first had to make sure they found a place that could be defended, such as placing it on a crag or in a bend of a river or by the sea.

Then they started to think about how a castle could be used to control the land around, for example, by placing it next to a coastal road or by a river or a mountain pass.

Many castles were built to control several kinds of route at the same time.

Now find out about defending the castle.