Beeston Castle

We have driven past the signposts to Beeston Castle many times, and it’s been on our To-Do list for some time, so at last, we popped along to visit.

We’ve never seen the castle from the main roads, but as soon as you start driving down the small country lanes towards it, the castle appears on the only large hill in the area. This is quite an impressive location for the castle.

You can see Beeston Castle on top of the hill as you drive down the lanes to it.

The car park is just outside the entrance and is a Pay-and-Display car park, but it is free if you are English Heritage members.

The parking is Pay and Display at Beeston Castle (free for English Heritage Members)

After getting your tickets in the gatehouse, check out the model and information about the castle, as there isn’t any information as you walk around the site.

This location at Beeston has been a place lived in for at least 4000 years. It was originally a hill fort, and English Heritage has re-created a Bronze Age roundhouse, which is like the houses that would have covered the top of the hill before the castle.

A recreation of a Bronze Age Round House can be found. Houses like these would have been on the hill before the castle was built. It gives kids a good idea of how families used to live.

There are around 40 acres to explore, and the lower section at the level of the entrance has some caves to explore.

There is a cafe, but this area is great for picnics.

As you head up the hill, you get to the outer wall of the castle. There are lots of lookout points to explore as you walk around the outer walls, though keep an eye on your kids, as there are some big drops. And don’t let them climb on the walls.

You can walk around the outer wall of Beeston Castle. We did this on a bright Autumn day.

Like all good castles, there’s an outer castle wall and an inner one. The inner castle is further up the hill.

There’s an inner castle at Beeston, only accessible over a bridge.

The castle’s builders dug a huge trench across the hill so that you could only access this inner castle via a drawbridge.

View out from the inner castle door over the drawbridge.

At the top castle, it was quite windy, but with plenty of amazing views.

This is the view from the top of Beeston Castle.

While there isn’t as much for kids to see and do at Beeston Castle as some other larger castles, there are regular family events put on.

There is a shop with some interesting items you find at English Heritage, including some unique Wines, Meads, and Gins.

There are some interesting items in the shop.

It is a fantastic location and a great place to take the kids to burn off some energy and get their imaginations going, take a picnic, and stretch the legs 🙂