Who would have known that this medieval castle is actually owned by King Charles, through the Duchy of Lancaster? With not too much time to be a tourist, I phoned ahead to check. 'First tour is at ten, the gate opens at 0930' So my taxi dropped me at the main gate at 0927 and I walked to the gate, through which workmen completing work on the courtyard were to-ing and fro-ing, only to have some bumptious official push the door to nearly closed saying, 'members of the public are not allowed in till 0930'. Three minutes later the same man opened the gate, only to announce that the ticket office wouldn't open till 'about 0945', despite it having a sign to say it opened at 0930. So I asked for a ticket for the 1000 tour, to be told that both the 1000 and 1045 tours had been reserved for school parties. So much for my carefully planned itinerary! So I repaired to the splendid Atkinsons coffee shop to pass away 90 minutes. The tour was led by the very knowledgeable Daniel, who had also sold me my ticket. Seeing the very basic cells of the former prison was pretty daunting, as was the detail of the 'drop room' where condemned prisoners were led to their deaths. We were told that the local vicar used to sell tickets to watch the public executions from his churchtower. It was disappointing not to be able to take photographs inside the two theoretically working court rooms. The former civil court, actually last used as a criminal court for the trial of the Birmingham Six, was especially spectacular with ornate woodwork from Gillows of Lancaster, whose work also featured heavily in the former Crown Court, unused since Covid. The tour is well worth the £9 cost, although I do wonder if the 'no photography' rule is really necessary in court rooms which do not even have a picture of the King?

We enjoyed our tour. James, our guide certainly knows his history and there’s plenty of it in the castle. The tour was about 1.5 hours and interesting the whole time. Good to see a castle in such good condition and a massive history of use until almost present day. Very fair price too.

Beautiful view. Fascinating facts, the tour was great. Just beware of sensitive information/stories at the end of the tour for children. It wasn't very clear how to get back to the front of the castle after the tour was completed. If you want to book a tour, I recommend booking in advance if possible.

Tickets are via a guided tour only and I advise booking in advance. The tour guide was really knowledgeable and gave a fabulous tour which lasted about 90 mins. Really interesting history to the castle . There is a lovely cafe in the grounds that did fabulous coffee. There was also the police museum which was free and well worth a visit too. We manage on street parking pretty close but it wasn't a busy time and I think we landed lucky. Better to plan for a nearby car park. Parking was not cheap either.

We had a fantastic guided tour of Lancaster Castle with King David as our guide. He was incredibly knowledgeable, engaging, and brought the castle’s rich history to life with fascinating stories and insights. His passion for the history of the castle was clear throughout the tour, and his sense of humor made the experience even more enjoyable. We learned so much and appreciated how he answered questions with such enthusiasm and detail. This was one of the highlights of our visit to Lancaster. Highly recommended to anyone visiting the castle—thank you, King David, for such a memorable and fantastic tour!