Set away deep in a valley, it is easy to imagine this as the scene for a 19th century gothic novel when there is no one about, when the clouds are gathering and the rain hammering down. Before I get carried away, this maybe only a ¾ moat but the gatehouse is the star attraction in this National Trust estate.

Mow Cop overlooks this stunning 16th century, half timbered, black & white house. And the top heavy but immensely photographic National Trust house goes one step further in over-shadowing the moat. That said, it is still a worthy candidate for this website and well worth visiting.

For over 800 years, it has been the home to the Bishops of Bath & Wells. The Palace in the centre of Wells is surrounded by a wide moat with gatehouse, portcullis and drawbridge. It's enough to make any castle jealous!

A wide moat surrounds a large acreage rather than just the castle, which now is more properly a manor house. At Broughton the work of the 18th century socialite gentleman architect Sanderson Miller can be seen; possibly he was responsible for the ceiling decoration in the Hall while the Long Gallery above is described as "Sanderson Miller Gothick".