The best castles to visit in Yorkshire with the family
· Updated
Yorkshire has more castles worth a family day out than any other English county, and most of them sit within an hour of brilliant camping. Bolton Castle in Wensleydale is the standout for younger children, with falconry displays and a walled garden inside a fortress that held Mary Queen of Scots in 1568. Skipton Castle is the one to see if you want a proper medieval building your kids can actually explore, because it is one of the best-preserved and most complete castles in England, still fully roofed after more than 900 years.
The rest of the county fills in around those two. English Heritage looks after a run of Norman keeps and clifftop ruins across the Yorkshire Dales, the North York Moors and the coast, and several are free to roam and easy on the legs. This guide names the ones that reward a visit with children, what makes each one different, and where to pitch up nearby.
It is part of our wider guide to camping near Britain's castles, from Camping Sites in Britain, where you can find and compare campsites across every corner of the county.
The best castles to visit in Yorkshire
Nine castles are worth planning a trip around, and they split neatly by who runs them and what your children get out of the visit. The table sorts them so you can match a castle to the age of your family and the part of Yorkshire you are camping in.
| Castle | Where | Custodian | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bolton Castle | Wensleydale, Dales | Private | Falconry, gardens, young children |
| Skipton Castle | Gateway to the Dales | Private | A complete, roofed medieval castle |
| Richmond Castle | Above the Swale | English Heritage | Climbing a Norman keep, big views |
| Middleham Castle | Wensleydale | English Heritage | Richard III and knights |
| Pickering Castle | Edge of the Moors | English Heritage | Motte and bailey, steam trains nearby |
| Scarborough Castle | The coast | English Heritage | Headland, sea views, a beach day |
| Conisbrough Castle | Near Doncaster | English Heritage | A dramatic circular keep |
| Helmsley Castle | North York Moors | English Heritage | Ruins, market town, walking |
| Clifford's Tower | York | English Heritage | A city break with history |
Bolton and Skipton are privately run and charge admission. The English Heritage sites are covered by membership, so if you are visiting three or more on one trip a family membership usually pays for itself. Check current opening times and prices on English Heritage before you set off, as smaller sites keep reduced winter hours.
Castles in the Yorkshire Dales
The Dales hold the four castles that give families the most to do, all within a short drive of each other in and around Wensleydale.
Bolton Castle
Bolton Castle is the best first castle for a family in Yorkshire. It is a 14th-century fortress that has never been a ruin, and Mary Queen of Scots was held here in 1568 during the first months of her long imprisonment in England. What makes it work for children is the programme laid on inside the walls: daily falconry and birds of prey displays, a wild boar and animal area, medieval gardens to run around, and archery in the school holidays. You can climb through the chambers where Mary was kept and look straight out over Wensleydale.
Middleham Castle
Middleham was the childhood home of Richard III, who trained here as a boy before he became king, and it later served as his northern power base. Run by English Heritage, it has one of the largest keeps in the country, and there is a family trail, replica armour to try on and open grassy ramparts that suit a picnic. The village itself is a working racehorse town, so an early morning brings strings of horses out onto the gallops.
Richmond Castle
Richmond Castle is one of the oldest stone castles in Britain, begun soon after the Norman Conquest in the years after 1066, and its great keep is among the oldest stone keeps in the country. It stands on a rock above the River Swale on the northern edge of the Dales, and the climb to the top of the keep rewards you with a view over the town, the river and the moors beyond. English Heritage runs it, and the walled Cockpit garden and riverside walks below make an easy half day with children.
Castles near the North York Moors and coast
East of the Dales, the North York Moors and the Yorkshire coast add castles built for defence and for the view, several of them ruins that children can wander freely.
Pickering Castle
Pickering Castle is a classic Norman motte and bailey, a great earth mound topped with the remains of a shell keep, and it is one of the easiest castles to understand at a glance because the shape is so clear. It sits on the edge of the North York Moors in the market town of Pickering, which is also the southern terminus of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, so you can pair a castle morning with a steam train ride across the moors in one day.
Helmsley Castle
Helmsley Castle is a dramatic ruin on the southern edge of the North York Moors, with a great split tower, deep double ditches and an Elizabethan mansion range built into the walls. English Heritage runs an exhibition here that walks children through 900 years of the castle's story. The pretty market town of Helmsley is at the start of the Cleveland Way, so it is a natural base for a walking and castle weekend.
Scarborough Castle
Scarborough Castle commands a headland high above the North Sea, with the town and both of its bays laid out below. There has been a fortress on this rock since the 12th century, and the walk out along the barbican and around the curtain walls is all sea air and big skies. It pairs perfectly with a beach day, which makes it one of the easiest castles to sell to children who are not sure they want a history trip.
Castles in South Yorkshire and York
Two more castles are worth the drive if you are camping in the county's south or want a city day.
Conisbrough Castle
Conisbrough Castle, near Doncaster, has the most striking keep in Yorkshire: a tall white circular tower buttressed by six great fins, unique in England and unmistakable from a distance. It so captured Sir Walter Scott that he set much of his novel Ivanhoe here in 1819. English Heritage has floored the keep so families can climb right to the top, and there are hands-on activities inside that bring the medieval household to life.
Clifford's Tower, York
Clifford's Tower is the last major piece of York Castle, a quatrefoil stone tower on a steep mound in the heart of the city. A recent English Heritage project added a roof deck and walkways inside, so you climb up for a panorama across York's rooftops and the Minster. It slots neatly into a family day in York alongside the Shambles and the National Railway Museum.
Planning a family castle trip in Yorkshire
The trick with castles and children is to keep each visit to a couple of hours and pair it with something active. A morning at a castle and an afternoon on a beach, a steam railway or a Dales riverside walk beats trying to do two castles in a day.
- Book a base, not a single castle. One campsite in Wensleydale reaches Bolton, Middleham and Richmond, and a Moors site pairs Pickering with Helmsley and the coast.
- Weigh up English Heritage membership. Middleham, Richmond, Pickering, Helmsley, Scarborough, Conisbrough and Clifford's Tower are all covered, so family membership can pay off over a week.
- Pack for the weather. Most are open, exposed ruins with grass underfoot, so waterproofs and proper shoes matter.
- Aim for events. Bolton runs falconry daily, and English Heritage stages living history weekends through the summer.
Find and compare campsites, caravan parks and glamping across the region on our North Yorkshire campsites listings, which cover both the Dales and the Moors.
Castles to visit beyond Yorkshire
If castles are the theme of your camping year, three neighbouring counties carry it on. Northumberland has the grandest coastal fortresses in England, covered in our guide to the must-see castles of Northumberland. Over the Pennines, the Lake District pairs lakes and fells with historic strongholds in our guide to Cumbria's best castles. To the east, Lincolnshire holds its own set worth a trip, listed in our top five castles in Lincolnshire.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best castle to visit in Yorkshire with young children?
Bolton Castle in Wensleydale. It is a complete fortress rather than a ruin, with daily falconry displays, an animal area, medieval gardens and holiday archery, plus the story of Mary Queen of Scots, who was held there in 1568.
Which Yorkshire castle is the best preserved?
Skipton Castle, at the gateway to the Yorkshire Dales, is one of the most complete and best-preserved medieval castles in England. It is still fully roofed after more than 900 years, so children can explore rooms rather than just walls.
Are Yorkshire castles free to visit?
Some are. English Heritage sites such as Middleham, Richmond and Pickering charge admission or are free to members, while a few smaller ruins are open access. Bolton and Skipton are privately run and charge a family entry fee.
Which Yorkshire castle is linked to Richard III?
Middleham Castle in Wensleydale was the childhood home of Richard III, who trained here as a boy and later made it his northern base. It is run by English Heritage and has one of the largest keeps in England.
Which castle inspired Ivanhoe?
Conisbrough Castle, near Doncaster, with its unique circular keep, inspired Sir Walter Scott's 1819 novel Ivanhoe. English Heritage has floored the tower so families can climb to the top.
Can you camp near Yorkshire's castles?
Yes. Wensleydale campsites put Bolton, Middleham and Richmond within easy reach, while sites on the North York Moors suit Pickering, Helmsley and Scarborough. Compare options on our North Yorkshire listings.
The short version
Start with Bolton Castle for young children and Skipton for a complete medieval building, then add the English Heritage keeps at Richmond, Middleham, Pickering and Scarborough as you move across the Dales, Moors and coast. Base yourself in one spot, keep each visit short, and let a beach or a steam train do the rest.
Pick a pitch first and plan the castles around it using our North Yorkshire campsites listings, or read the wider guide to camping near Britain's castles.
