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The castle at Appleby in Westmorland is located on a hill immediately south of the town centre, which it dominates both physically and historically. Originally a Norman foundation, it is closely associated with the Clifford and Percy families, two of the dominant dynasties of the North of England in past centuries. It is one of four castles owned by the Lady Anne Clifford (and along with Skipton Castle, one of only two still reasonably well preserved); she is buried in the parish church here.

The castle is now in private hands (the Nightingale family) and after several years of being closed to the public, was reopened to visitors at Easter 2016 with tours being offered of parts of the castle that are not used as living quarters. As of summer 2016 the keep itself was still undergoing restoration - see Geograph photo NY6819 : Appleby Castle for a view from the top when it was open to the public in the 1980s.

The whole estate is a grade 2* listed parkland (list entry 1000659); the main castle buildings are listed grade 1 (entries 1137815, 1145604 and 1145605) and the Norman remains a Scheduled Ancient Monument (1003276).