The first view that strikes a visitor approaching the British coast is that of the high White Cliffs of Dover, looking like a great natural fortress. Throughout history, this imposing vista has symbolized to invaders the frontier between a familiar world and unknown territory...

At the end of the first millennium, Great Britain was still a patchwork of small rival kingdoms ruled by Anglo-Saxon, Welsh, Irish and Scottish tribes. The Norman invasion of 1066 would mark a turning point in history. Great stony castles and fortresses would be built rapidly throughout the territory - places of shelter, but also a spectacular demonstration of wealth and power.
They have survived to bear witness today to a thousand years of territorial conquest that brought together the four nations under one and the same flag.