Corfe Castle is a ruined castle, village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset. The castle dates back to the 11th century, and commands a gap in the Purbeck Hills on the route between Wareham and Swanage. Even to this day, all road traffic to and from the Swanage area must pass below the battlements of the castle. The picturesque village of Corfe Castle lies in the gap below the castle, and is some eight kilometres south-east of Wareham, and the same distance west of Swanage. Both the current main A351 road to Swanage, and the Swanage Railway, thread their way through the gap and the village.