Spofforth Castle

After a very damp few days, it was time to exercise the legs again, so here is Spofforth Castle taken from the path that goes around the back. The trusty bike makes it's customary appearance in the foreground.

This ruin is known as a castle, but is actually the remains of a manor house.
According to the English Heritage website: 

Spofforth was the main seat of the Percy family - one of the most important and influential families in northern England - until the late 14th century. William de Percy, a favourite of William the Conqueror, built a manor house here in the 11th century, and it was reputedly here that rebel barons drew up Magna Carta in 1215. The surviving remains are those of a fortified manor house, dating mainly from the 14th and 15th centuries.