Bolton Castle Review

Example of a quadrangular castle.Built by Richard Scrope.it is still in the ownership of the descendants of the Scrope family.Kinda big castle ona of the towers didn't survive.Nice tearoom in the castle :)

A great castle, reasonable price and freedom to roam

Lovely day out in beautiful surroundings with friendly staff. The kids loved it (4 & 7) and so did we! We will most certainly return.

We did find the coffee a bit expensive though for what it was (regular filter).

Also if you are in the military or have been in then its free!

Plenty to see and do, look around the castle, with added talks on archery, birds of prey, and feeding the wild boars if you're there at the right time of day. Great family day out!

Pure atmosphere. One of the best guided tours. Lots of reenactors. Great place. Good day out. Staff friendly.

A great well run medieval castle, nicely priced and informed staff, don't miss the birds of prey!

Its was very informative & took you back through our history loved it

Excellent venue for the family wedding we attended. The falconry display was particularly special.

We visited Bolton Castle on the penultimate day of our holiday to the region. It was drizzly/ showery day but that wasn't to mar the visit.

On entering we decided to stop for a drink. My husband had the best coffee he had had for ages and we both enjoyed the experience eating in the hall. The castle was much more than we expected. The rooms done with furnishings were a treat and the size of the castle and feeling of how it would have been lived in came through. We loved all of that. On top of this we were amused and entertained twice by a gem of a guide on both the archery and birds of prey parts of the visit. Archery not being something we had tried before was well explained and then the group we were with were very supportively clapping each person after their turn, which was lovely.

The birds of prey were chosen to showcase their individual characters and were given their platforms to shine, with our guide being a refreshingly bubbly, knowledgeable and engaging individual who completely enhanced our 'whole' trip. This was a 10 out of 10 experience.

Having been around the area on three different holidays and yet not coming to the castle we realised what we had missed out on.

Finally, on the day we went they were getting ready for weekend reenactment of the castle as it would have been and the smell of the fires wafted everywhere you went, making it feel that we had been transported back in time. Wonderful!

Beautiful castle great location family owned and has some great interiors.

A great historical castle in stunning surrounding countryside , the birds of pray display is great as the handlers are very entraining and interesting .

All in all a good experience, knocked one star off for the high prices of everything, the early closing of the cafe (& sometimes closed altogether even though it's summer school holidays), and the early closing of the gardens which meant we missed out on these. Perhaps there should be a last entry time of say 2: 30pm?
Plus points for the only castle I've seen which has many parts intact and in use along side other parts totally ruined!

Looks good from the outside unfortunately there was a wedding on so not allowed in will try again another time

A well looked after small castle. Good reasonably priced car park. Cafe meal was good quality at a fair price. Staff very pleasant.

A good castle in a really glorious setting.
What I like is the reconstructed room settings, i.e.the archers accomodation and armoury - certainly beats a plain info board.
There is also a nice cafe inside which can be used without castle admission.

This place was the highlight of our holiday.
The staff were great,the castle was bigger than expected, very interesting & the gardens were very nice & well maintained.
The falcony was very good & very well organised & also the boar feeding & talk.

You need at least 3 to 4 hours there if you visit the lovely tea room & the shop.

Amazing peice of history on a great walk from Aysgarth. Would be 5 stars but can't take a dog around.

I felt it was not worth th money and they did not even make the effort to put the fires on..

A lovely place with some really interesting history behind it, and some great events getting run through the day. Grounds are really pretty, and I learned a heck of a lot while I was there. Well worth a visit

Bolton Castle.
1399 completed.
Compact quadrangular castle with four corner towers five floors connected by three storey residential buildings with a central courtyard.
About half of the castle is preserved and the buildings can be walked on.
The other half consists of walls but is gutted inside, nevertheless very impressive and interesting.
The preserved interior spaces are furnished with beautiful large fire pits and with typical objects and furniture.
Several case doors can be found inside the courtyard.
Outside the castle are the remains of a moat and a beautiful castle garden, bees station and a bird of prey station.
Open 10-18 clock
The entrance fee is paid.
Parking behind the castle.

Lovely castle and grounds, Baby boar were enjoying a mud bath

Nice location with plenty of the castle still intact

They have tried really hard to retain so many levels of authenticity and on many levels it works.

Information boards are great, and easily read.

Staff are friendly and you can really see the love the Gardner has for their grounds.

Just be aware of hidden dangers, some gates which are meant to be locked weren't, and my wife banged her head on a stairwell which was clearly sign posted regarding how low a piece of wood is.

The cafe system is really poor, some folk get served at the counter, some told to take a seat and they will bring the drinks over. We waited over ten minutes for 2 tea's which could have been done in 2 minutes whilst stood at the counter. Very odd system indeed, and stopped us ordering food. Just serve all drinks at the hatch, much quicker and more efficient use of staff time and energy!

Well worth a visit though.... Just watch your head and take a flask of tea

The food was absolutely amazing, had a buffet for a birthday party and it was the best buffet I have ever tasted. It was awesome!!!!!!!

Love this castle. Visible for miles set in the most glorious scenery. It is great as a pit stop for coffee and cake or more should you fancy. The castle is great for kids and adults alike. Well worth a visit. Don't forget to visit the wild boar!

Lovely Castle, beautiful views. Really loved it. Will go again.

Lovely tea room and toilets free without entering castle and paying. Beautiful views.

Looks good but couldnt go in so disappointed because don't allow dogs.

Great place! Came from Holland to get married here! ;-)

Beautiful castle, very reasonable price for a day out. Lovely staff, very knowledgeable. Fantastic bird of prey show and gorgeous gardens.

Bolton Castle is a Fantastic place to visit, plenty to see and activities to join in, the staff are so Friendly and also the Birds of Prey.

Great birds of prey display and archery lovely gardens kids enjoyed themselves so mission accomplished

I am possibly being a bit generous here and I would have to agree with an earlier comment suggesting that some of the displays were pretty average. But in some ways I prefer a beat up old castle to wander about and this one still has plenty of character.

Fantastic place to visit, we did the falcon walk as well, would recommend

Stunning location, beautiful castle kids loved the birds of pery display. Back after covid 19, measures taken to ensure safe operation. Saw staff member regularly cleaning touch points and pinch points in castle.

Kids love this place. Lots of thinks to see and learn. I highly recommend this place.

Helpful staff with lots to see and do, but food is very expensive. Mind you, think of it as a contribution to a very well kept castle. Highly recommended

Another worth while place to visit on your tour de Yorkshire

Excellent, very interesting historically, plenty to see and for the kids as well

Very nice castle to visit with children. Castle is partially used as it was in the past (kitchen, fire places etc). If possible, take the castle tour as there is a great explanation on how people lived in that era. Also bird-of-prey show was very nice.

Good but pricey, lovely view and great for weddings

A very pleasant day at Bolton Castle. Lots to see and do. We got to try some archery out and also dress up in some lovely medieval clobber.

While we were hiking the trails around Aysgarth Falls, we saw a sign that said the castle was closed today. We went there anyway and it was closed (the wedding party inside sounded like a load of fun). We decided to tour the gardens (super) and see the birds of prey as well as the beekeepers display. Have fun in the small garden maze and be sure to explore the gardens. The bee displays also included two ferrets in a cage that were desperately trying to get out. They were cute and almost out of water (poor buggers). The birds of prey were amazing to see and sad since they weren't free to fly. The cages were clean but very empty with little shelter against the weather. These could use some improvements immediately.

We'll visit again and view the inside of the castle. The views of the surrounding countryside are amazing so don't forget to look up while touring the place!

Lovely old castle loads if info on site and great walks

Awesome place, really enjoyed the castle and gardens. The highlight though was the enthusiams and knowledge of the young keeper who undertook the archery, falconary and boar feeding events. Brilliant easter sunday trip!

Great castle and gardens, worth a visit! Also a lovely tea room.

Very impressive building and a nice walk from the aysgath falls

A great castle to visit on a bleak windy day. Very atmospheric

Pricey on the outset but well, well worth the money.
The castle itself is in good repair and good explanation and props in the different rooms of their purpose and the history of the castle/relevant battles.
Got to shoot longbows and see a bird of prey demonstration - very good presenter.
The gardens are lovely - the herbal gardens in particular with their explanation of medieval medical practise were fascinating to my pharmacist mother.

Spent a lovely afternoon there - could have stayed longer.

Obviously a Steep hill to get to it but worth the trip. Great views and real history..

Take no notice of the opening times on Google, this place is shut until 15th February.

Visited 5th October when they had a medieval weekend. They had very knowledgeable guides who brought the history of the castle and the people who lived and worked there alive.

Wonderful view for photos but unfortunately it was closed to the public due to a wedding that evening.

Really cool and interesting castle with lots of information. If you struggle getting around I don't suggest it as there are plenty of steep stone stairs to climb. Otherwise a great day out if you like castle's

Amazing grounds. Great stop whilst exploring the Dales.

Fantastic castle, helpful and knowledgeable staff and great food

Myself and my Mum decided to take a trip up to Bolton Castle to have a little walk and enjoy the views, we travelled a fair distance to get a little exercise in the rural and stunning area this castle is situated upon. We hadn t realised the castle car park was closed, and on entering the car park we were met by the rudest excuse of a man who worked at the castle - walking his two little dogs. He aggressively told us to get lost and go back home - as he continued to pour our abuse towards us and threatened to call the police.. he ruined our day, please beware of this petty, rude and insulting individual, in his 50s-60s dark hair and an attitude that would offend the most relaxed and easy going of people. We will make sure we don t return, and all of our friends/family will be warned. Discusting behaviour by a vile individual.

Very beautiful historic place good food and very polite staff

Beautiful setting, interesting place, reasonable admission rates & spectacularly good food in the tea room!

Beautiful views and interesting castle and grounds. Good for half a day visit.

I loved Bolton Castle as it is a lovely day out, with interactive activities not only for children but for adults and senior citizens too. Some including :
Bird of prey show
Archery
Boar feeding
Etc.

It also had a wonderful castle with amazing views from the top. It has a gift shop and cafe, and outdoor attractions. A thoroughly enjoyable day out.

Castle is interesting. Bird show somewhat amateurish. Archery good, feeding wild boar ok.

Great day out top castle. Nearby tourist train and its beautiful out on the moors.

Fab afternoon out at Bolton Castle with husband and kids... archery and falconry displays. Sadly we couldn't stay for the falconry - but got a shot with a longbow.

Staff really friendly and was pleasantly surprised by the amount there was to see and do.

We will be back - thanks very much!

Loved it here, thought I was at Bolton Ramsey's castle from GOT

Beautiful place and they put on a great Trail Race, been coming here for a long time c