Castle Rising
Castle Rising
4.5
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
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  • wanderingbedu
    Norfolk, United Kingdom108 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Nice day trip if you're in the area
    A fairly well-preserved castle with good views over the surrounding area. Has a car park and toilets. The ticket office was closed, so we put money in the honesty box. Good signage inside the castle. Not really for people that have difficulty with stairs.
    Visited December 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written January 6, 2024
  • Stuart M
    Tipton, United Kingdom912 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Good value for money visit
    There are plenty of castle ruins you pay an entry fee to see and wonder if you get good value for money. Castle Rising isn't one of them. With a £6 adult entry fee, this is really good value. Well preserved castle keep, with a maintained circular walk around the raised embankment around it, you'll spend about an hour here. In the sun, the scenery is spectacular. Well done, English Heritage.
    Visited February 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written February 10, 2024
  • Wendie M
    Lincolnshire, United Kingdom142 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Lovely Castle and views
    Every year we drive by and think about stopping here but never get round to it. This year we did and wished we had done it sooner, it is so close to the main road but hidden from view. Lovely to walk around the insides, although such a shame there is so much '2024' graffiti all over the walls
    Visited May 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written May 14, 2024
  • Amanda W
    1,141 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great castle
    Well worth the entrance fee. So much to see. Walk around the ramparts and climb all the winding staircases inside the building. So like what you 8magine as a castle but was a hunting lodge. Not really suitable for wheelchair access. Toilets in car park.
    Visited June 2024
    Travelled solo
    Written June 16, 2024
  • Ann C
    Nashville, Tennessee3,338 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Castle Rising
    Castle Rising is a fascinating site with a rich history, notably mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1066 and once owned by the half-brother of William the Conqueror. The castle is remarkably well-preserved, offering a tangible connection to its storied past. Despite its historical significance, I believe this site is often underrated. It’s definitely worth a visit for those interested in medieval history and architecture.
    Visited August 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written August 18, 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles665 reviews
Excellent
306
Very good
261
Average
74
Poor
12
Terrible
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Caxo123456789
16 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2023 • Family
A very clean and picturesque site. The castle ruins are well maintained and you can walk around the outside as well as some of the interior. The outside is partially accessible for pushchairs and wheelchairs, the interior is not. Dogs on leads are welcome. Entry to the castle site is poorly signed, and the car park is just an unmarked grassy area, with no allocated disabled parking. There is a clean toilet block within the car park. The castle is advertised by English Heritage but the opening hours and cost are inaccurate. They also do not have any of the EH free collectable badges for younger guests. I was curtly informed that "(Castle Rising) is a privately held trust and they are not part of English Heritage". At entry we said what our party comprised of and we were left to work out what the most appropriate pricing option was (ie we had to work out that we all needed individual tickets as a family ticket was not cheaper for our group - most venues recommend the cheapest option for your party). It was £24 for 2 adults, 1 child, 1 disabled adult (free carer was not offered) and 1 student. There is informative signage, throughout the site in written English. We walked around the outer area of the castle then explored the interior. It was fairly quiet when we arrived with a few older couples also visiting, we were on the site for around 1.5 hours and when we left there were several large groups with younger children. There are no refreshments on site.
Written July 29, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Juliette G
London, UK477 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2021
Great castle to visit , wonderfully sited near Sandringham estates , with a QA all village and a tea rooms near by you can have scones and tea. The medevial castle is very well laid out and a free car park . Great value for money, I would recommend it to anyone walked around the moat and took some stunning photos...went to the gift shop and got a few souvenirs to take home...
Written August 4, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Lucy S
4 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2022 • Couples
A really interesting place to visit. Impressive castle with lots of history and photo opportunities. Helpful staff and tasteful giftshop. Lots of steps and slopes; would not recommend for wheelchairs or buggies. Toilets in the large car park were spotlessly clean. Cafe in the village seems to be the only place to get food and drinks...they were busy when we visited and a little pricy for our budget so would recommend taking a picnic. Took around 1-2 hours for a good look around.
Written July 11, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Carol B
Birmingham, UK7,178 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2022
Thursday 8th September 2022, we went to visit Castle Rising under the care of The English Heritage.

Castle Rising Castle is one of the most famous 12th Century castles in England. The stone keep, built in around 1140, is amongst the finest surviving examples of its kind anywhere in the country and, together with the massive surrounding earthworks, ensures that Castle Rising is a castle of national importance.

In its time Castle Rising has served as a hunting lodge, royal residence, and for a brief time in the 18th century it even housed a mental patient. The most famous period in its history was when it came to the mother of Edward III, Queen Isabella, following her part in the murder of her husband Edward II.

The castle then passed to the Howard family in 1544 and it remains in their hands today, the current owner being a descendant of William D'Albini II, the Norman baron who built the castle.

The great earthworks which form the whole site and extent of the castle cover an area of between 12 and 13 acres, and comprise of an inner bailey, and two lesser outworks respectively to the east and west. The central enclosure, in a shape of something between a circle and an oval has a circumference around its crest of about 320 meters and is far the strongest, with it banks, even now after the cumulative and combined effects of erosion and in-filling, rising to a height of some 18meters

Within the inner bailey, can be found the remains of an early Norman Church. Discovered in the early nineteenth century when the bailey was cleared of accumulated sand and soil, it is the earliest building within the site, pre-dating even the castle itself. Dating from around the late eleventh century it is thought to be the first parish church of Castle Rising (no earlier church has yet been discovered) and was probably replaced by the current twelfth-century church when the castle was founded.

My husband and I mooched round this wonderful historic castle and took lots of photographs of the apartments and towers. Our friend Jackie came with us as far as the entrance hall but decided that she could not manage all the stone staircases and steps within the castle), so she just sat in an alcove and waited whilst my husband and I mooched round this wonderful historic castle.

If you like history and castles, then this is one to put on your list to visit if you are in the area.
Written September 24, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Dawn L
Coventry, UK40 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2022 • Family
We went when there was a battle re-enactment day on. (You pay a bit more for re-enactment days we paid £25.00 for 2 adults and 2 children) There was lots to watch, and plenty of people living medieval life for you to ask questions and talk too, it was really interesting. My children enjoyed trying to make sparks with flint and steel and watching the archery the most. You could also walk around the castle too. We had an enjoyable time there.
Written May 1, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Stuart B
Mundaring, Australia37 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2022 • Family
This castle ticks loads of boxes. We found it without any dramas. The car park is big with plenty of overspill for a busy day. A toilet block at the top of the car park was a welcome convenience for the family. The toilets were clean and well maintained. We walked the short distance to the ticket/gift shop. On entering my eye was drawn immediately to the 1:3 scale wooden Scottish Claymores - made me wonder if the Clans ever got this far south.🤔
The price was reasonable. We unleashed the gang across the moats, through the gate house and into the castle. Very authentic, full of character - even a dead rat on the spiral staircase added to the realism. Lots of passageways to explore. My girls were very impressed with the kitchen area complete with chimney to the sky.
Well worth a visit and a cuppa at the nearby tea room (see separate review).
Written September 15, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Hannah Marchon
Cromer, UK14 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2022
We planned a trip with the children as it looked an ideal place to visit. After doing some research and looking at the English Heritage website a day pass for a family with up to 3 children was advertised for £15.50. On arrival at the ticket office there seemed to be total chaos between another visitor and a girl serving over gifts being purchased. My husband waited his turn and purchased tickets but was charged £18.50. When he questioned the amount he was told it was the right charge for a family with 3 children. We quickly looked at the website on my phone as we left the ticket office to see he was correct as it clearly states £15.50 so went back into the ticket office to make the girl aware. At first in an abrupt manner my husband was told it was the wrong price on the English Heritage website and she was aware. He stated it was rather misleading then to advertise a ticket price and not to honour it. He was then offered a refund with some childish tutting thrown in for good measure which he refused as it was clear the girl was being very unhelpful. The castle is a wonderful place with ample grounds but such a shame the staff are knowingly overcharging visitors and being rude when challenged. If you want to go somewhere where the staff treats you with utter contempt as a visitor this is the place for you.
Written August 3, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Demonakis
London, UK262 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2021
We visited the castle on a particularly sunny day. We had a great couple of hours looking around and it was great to see such a well preserved piece of history. Due to COVID, the price was a little reduced so it was a very cheap trip out. There aren't many accessible areas with a roof over the top, so make sure it isn't raining when you go.
Written November 23, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

familytravel4x4
Liphook, UK627 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2021 • Family
Need better signposting to find it, but well worth the search! Easy parking and walk to the ticket office. The castle/keep is small but a good mix of intact rooms as well as shells of former rooms. Situated within earthen ramparts the site is atmospheric and interesting to explore which is helped by information boards and room names enroute. Reasonable cost of £5 entry fee
Written September 10, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

SJB_HULL
Kingston-upon-Hull, UK33 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2021
Very nice location clean and tidy dogs welcome good views and set in a quintessential English village slopes easy to walk with an old hound and views very good.

Only thing that I found odd were that there are no rubbish bins in the castle area or village. Covid as a reason doesn't wash so that omission sorted would change a very good to n excellent
Written July 19, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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CASTLE RISING - All You MUST Know Before You Go (2024)

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