Bamburgh Castle and Cragside Estate Updates
To protect everyone, we’ve been working hard with external health and safety consultants along with our experienced in-house experts to put everything we can in place so you can visit us safely and with confidence. We are proud to be VisitEngland tourism industry ‘We’re Good To Go’ standard accredited for our Covid-secure measures.
A priority for us is the safety and welfare of our visitors and team. We are following Government guidance closely and have brought in external health and safety specialists to work alongside our team of experts. Together, we have built a thorough plan that will give you peace of mind to enjoy a safe visit to Bamburgh Castle, including increased hygiene measures, preferred routes and social distancing markers.
We will also be a cash-free attraction.
These are new times for us all and we’ll continue to monitor the situation on a daily basis and update you with any changes to our plans here on our website and on social media.
If you are showing any symptoms of Covid-19 please stay at home. There is always another time to visit us.
For health and safety purposes no cash is being accepted at Bamburgh Castle. Payments will be card only.
It’s not mandatory to wear a face mask while visiting us, however please feel free to wear a mask or cover your face when you visit if you wish to do so.
Parking payments will be contactless. Please have your card at the ready and follow instructions for parking.
While you don’t have to pre book to visit, you can purchase an online ticket in advance here.
Please follow our new one way system and signage around the grounds and staterooms at all times and follow important safety requests from our team.
Please make sure you maintain a 2m gap from other people or groups at all times inside the castle and in our grounds. Markers and queue lines around the castle will help you keep a safe distance at all times.
We will be reopening with reduced visitor numbers. Admissions to the castle will be carefully monitored by our team.
For your safety, a clearly marked preferred route will be in operation. Please keep to the righthand side of walkways. A map showing this route will be given to you on arrival.
Hygiene screens are in place at points of face to face contact, including our ticket office, food and drink outlets and retail counters.
Takeaway refreshments will be available to purchase from our Clock Tower Cafe. Please note that we will only be accepting card payments for purchases. Due to Covid-19 restrictions covered seating areas are limited. Please remember to wash and sanitise your hands before eating.
You are welcome to bring and enjoy a picnic within the castle grounds, but please tidy up after you and dispose of litter carefully or take i home with you.
We ask all our visitors to maintain high levels of hygiene. Please wash and sanitise your hands before your visit and frequently during your time with us.
Hand sanitisers will be available throughout the castle. Please use these liberally during your visit.
In addition to our existing toilet facilities, a number of high-quality portable WCs will be in place throughout the castle grounds.
Rigorous cleaning programmes will be in place throughout the day, while touch points such as handrails, handles, taps and benches will be disinfected and wiped down regularly.
Dogs are welcome at Bamburgh Castle in our grounds. Dogs must be kept on leads at all times.
All our staff will take part in specific and regular coronavirus training in line with our new health and safety plan and policies. This will help them to stay safe and protect you, our visitors, too. Staff will wear PPE including face masks, disposable gloves and eye protection for close contact and cleaning duties.
From 6 July 2020 the castle will be open from 10.00am until 5.00pm every day with last admission at 4.00pm. perhaps this should be further up the list of questions, important info
All 14 of our staterooms, the grounds and Armstrong Aviation Museum will be open from Monday 6 July 2020. We will be carefully monitoring the situation and keep you updated should there be any changes to our opening plans.
Due to Covid-19 restrictions the inside of the Clock Tower Café and Tack Room Café remain closed for sit in dinning but will be offering a takeaway service
We are continuing to monitor the situation and liaise with health and safety experts regarding events. We will update you with event details and listings as soon as possible.
The castle will reopen daily from 10.00am until 5.00pm with last admissions at 4.00pm. You can stay as long as you would like to within our opening hours.
No, however you can purchase online tickets here.
Yes! From 6 July 2020 the castle will be open daily from 10.00am until 5.00pm with last admission at 4.00pm. Our health and safety team will be monitoring admission numbers closely and will advise on any admission delays.
Dogs are welcome at Bamburgh Castle in our grounds. Dogs must be kept on leads at all times.
Disabled parking is available within the castle alongside the Keep. Please note that wheelchair access is restricted within the castle to the first three staterooms and the King’s Hall where a film showing rooms that cannot be accessed by wheelchair can be viewed.
Our safety team will be closely monitoring admission numbers. We will advise you on any approximate wait times for admission with social distancing queue lines.
Takeaway refreshments will be available from our Clock Tower Café to enjoy in outdoor spaces. Please note we will only be accepting card payments. In line with Covid-19 restrictions covered seating areas are limited. Please remember to wash and sanitise your hands before eating.
You are welcome to bring a picnic. Please remember to tidy up after you and dispose of any litter carefully or take it home with you.
For health and safety purposes no cash is being accepted at Bamburgh Castle. Payments will be card only.
Please make sure you maintain a 2m gap from other people or groups at all times inside the castle and in our grounds. Markers and queue lines around the castle will help you keep a safe distance at all times.
For your safety, a clearly marked preferred route will be in operation. Please keep to the right side of walkways. A map showing this route will be given to you on arrival.
Rigorous cleaning programmes will be in place throughout the day, while touch points such as handrails, handles, taps and benches will be disinfected and wiped down regularly. We ask all our visitors to maintain high levels of hygiene. Please wash and sanitise your hands before your visit and frequently during your time with us.
In addition to our existing toilet facilities, a number of high-quality portable WCs will be in place throughout the castle grounds.
Hand sanitisers will be available throughout the castle. Please use these liberally during your visit.
Our new expanded car park will be open. Parking payments will be contactless. Please have your card at the ready and follow instructions for parking. Disabled parking is available for wheelchair users within the castle.
In line with the Government’s latest plans we are looking to reopen in July, however your safety and the wellbeing of our staff is paramount.
While we’re being cautious about reopening, we’re going full speed ahead with our measures to reopen safely, so you can enjoy a visit to Bamburgh Castle with confidence and our staff are reassured that they can return to work in a safe and secure environment.
We’ve brought in external health and safety experts who are working with us to put plans in place that will give you the trust and confidence to visit our castle with its nine acres of epic Northumberland land safely.
These include:
Bamburgh Castle will be a cashless site with mobile chip and pin payment systems throughout the castle, car park, grounds, retail areas and food and drink outlets.
A clearly signed one-way system in parts of the castle so all of our visitors can (and be gently reminded to) practice safe social distancing at all times.
Perspex screening in face-to-face interaction points such as our ticket office, retail areas and café.
Increased hygiene measures across the castle and grounds via additional hand sanitisers and hand washing points. Clear signage will remind visitors of hygiene and social distancing in place.
We will continue to monitor Government guidelines closely and provide regular updates both on our website and social media channels as and when the situation progresses.
Following the latest Government announcement (Sunday 10th May 2020) and the release of further guidance we want to share Bamburgh Castle’s plans towards a careful and covid-safe reopening.
Though Bamburgh Castle may appear closed from the outside, we have a team dedicated not only to preserving and maintaining England’s finest castle, but who are making thorough preparations and plans right now, so that when we reopen we do so in a way that is covid-safe for you, our visitors, our staff and our local community.
We’re consulting with local authorities, Northumbria Police, destination management agencies including Visit Britain as well as external security and other safety specialists.
We’re taking all of this expertise and embedding it as our foundations for a reopening plan that will be phased and thought out in every way to give you the utmost of confidence to visit and enjoy Bamburgh Castle and grounds.
This includes working towards being a recognised Covid-Safe visitor attraction in conjunction with Visit Britain, risk assessments, protective equipment (PPE), signage, safe routes, staff training , accessibility along with a whole raft of other vital steps that we will have fully in place before we open our gates.
Your safety and health and that of our staff and the local community is our absolute priority.
We felt it was important to share our planning processes, so you understand our reasons for not opening too quickly and understand why Bamburgh Castle along with our facilities on the estate including Car Parks and self-catering holiday properties remain CLOSED and why we’re urging you to stay at home for just a few more weeks.
We know just how much Bamburgh means to so many and appreciate how frustrating it is not being able to escape the claustrophobia of lockdown to drive out to the Northumberland coast and visit not just the castle but Bamburgh village and our beautiful beaches, or even to your second home or caravan here.
Please be patient and help us protect our community here in Bamburgh by not driving to visit. The car parks are closed. There are no public toilets open and sadly no pubs or restaurants to visit.
We cannot wait to welcome you – our visitors, friends and supporters – to Bamburgh Castle once again and will be announcing details of our reopening as soon as we can.
In the meantime, please show your support and consideration for a community you love and protect yourselves and all of our families by staying at home for just a little longer.
We have made the very difficult decision to temporarily close Bamburgh Castle until further notice due to the current Coronavirus situation.
The well-being of our staff and visitors is our absolute priority. We fully support and follow the Government’s advice to people with regard to social distancing.
Over the centuries that it has stood, Bamburgh Castle, its people and the surrounding community have shown a resilience and strength as tough as the Whin Sill the castle is built upon. We will get through these difficult days together and look forward to happier times when we can welcome you once again to our beloved Bamburgh Castle.
In the meantime, we wish you continued health and wellbeing in these challenging times.
Thank you for your understanding and support.
Francis Watson Armstrong and family