This fine medieval castle lies in the center of the Isle of Wight. In 1647, during one of the most turbulent periods of English history, Charles I was imprisoned here, far from his former seat of power in London, by Cromwell's Roundheads. On the castle premises is the 16th-century Well House, where, during periods of siege, donkeys took turns treading a large wooden wheel connected to a rope that hauled up buckets of water from a well. Accessible from the castle's courtyard is a museum (tel. 01983/523112) with exhibits pertaining to the social history of the Isle of Wight and the history of Charles I's imprisonment.