CASTLE Drogo at Drewsteignton is just one of 20 National Trust properties and landscapes which can now be explored online, after being added to Google Street View, available through Google Maps.

It is the first time a large number of visitor attractions have been added to Street View UK in one go. 

The images give a 360 degree ground level tour of the outside of the National Trust sites like iconic Castle Drogo, via a specially created online tour at http://www.maps.google.co.uk/streetview ">www.maps.google.co.uk/streetview ;

The images were taken late last summer using the Google Trike — a three wheeled bike with a Street View camera mounted on it, perfectly suited to collecting images in places not easily accessible by car. 

David Bailey, property manager at Castle Drogo said: 'Google Street View will enable even more people to take a peek and get a sense of what the castle has to offer.

'It's fantastic to think that people from around the world, who might never be able to travel to the UK, to see England's last castle to be built,  will be able to enjoy a virtual visit.'

Ed Parsons, geospatial technologist from Google said: 'Places like Castle Drogo offer all of us a special glimpse of the history, nature and architecture up and down the country.

'We were delighted to be able to open up some of the UK's most famous landmarks to the rest of the world, via the web.

'It's a fun way to gen up on what to see and do on a day out, or whet the appetite on where to go next.'