Oxford Castle and Prison Guided Tour

A prison where they let you out when you want to go home.

Very interesting venue. The guide really knew her facts and made it a super tour. Lots of humour, lots of steps and a few low doorways.

Jade brought history to life

Fascinating tour - our guide Jade was so much fun and entertained us all with her stories and anecdotes of life over the centuries in the Castle and the Prison. Wish that she had taught History at my school when I was young.

Great historical tour

We came to see the birds of prey, which were very good, but my son was eager to see the castle. Luckily we managed to book on a tour that was just about to leave. Our guide, Anne, was very informative. My son enjoyed hunting for ghosts downstairs. Be warned the climb to the tower is some going, especially with a little one, but there is the option to watch a video downstairs if you don't feel up to it.

Ella the tour guide

I went to Oxford with a friend on a day trip and we decided to do the Castle tour among other activities. Our guide Ella was fantastic!! She was extremely prepared, charming and effortlessly funny! I hope you will have the opportunity to enjoy her skills as a tour guide as we did. The Castle is, in my opinion, worth seeing just for her and for all of the historical facts she’ll tell you.

Only good vibes!

The castle was truly beautiful and suggestive, you have to see it if you are in Oxford. Our guide Ella was very good, competente and funny!

A journey through time

Thank you to Ella for taking us on a journey through time to discover the secrets of this magnificent place. It was so interesting.

Two thumbs up!

Our guide, Matt, was a wonderful guide that had great stories and tidbits to teach us during the tour. The parts of the castle & prison were exciting to see up close. Recommend visiting on your trip.

Fun and fascinating way to spend an afternoon

We spent a fantastic few hours in Oxford Castle. The guided part of the tour is excellent, we did our tour with Ellie who was knowledgeable, entertaining, and fun. As others have said, the climb up to the tower is steep and narrow so would be impossible for those with accessibility needs but the rest of the tour is very accessible including a lift down to the crypt. After the tour you can explore the castle/prison freely although large parts of it were destroyed or are no longer open to the public as they are part of the neighbouring hotel, so it is quite limited. The climb up the mound is included in the tour price and well worth doing for the views (also can be purchased separately for £2 for those who want to do the climb but not the castle tour). We were lucky enough to go on a day when they had birds of prey in the courtyard which visitors could handle for a small fee - worth every penny. There's a small coffee shop in the courtyard and a good size gift shop. You could only fill about 2 hours here but it's an excellent 2 hours!

Crypt

Ella was funny and informative- such a great experience learning about this 1,000 year old castle and prison. Well worth the time and money!

Highly recommend

Guided tour by the fantastic Ella who was equally as entertaining as she was informative. From the building of the castle nearly 1,000 years ago up to the prisons closure, lots of interesting stories about former residents and the history of the castle and prison in general. The timeline imigary and storyboards at the end of the tour were also interesting. In total I spent just less than two hours there (i think the tour was 45-60 minutes) and feel like I got my value for money.

Super time

It was amazing! Our tour guide was lovely, the gaol was great and well layed out. The steps are a bit of a struggle but it was worth it to go to the top. Overall a great expierience. 👍

Small but perfectly formed

We decided to visit the castle and prison to pass a couple of hours and we’re so glad we did. Matt the tour guide was knowledgeable and brought the history to life adding some humour to keep everyone interested. Climbing the tower is not easy but if you can manage it the view from the top is amazing. Hard to imagine this was a real prison until the mid 90’s

Lack lustre

Not really worth the money. It was very difficult to understand the unenthusiastic tour guide and must have been near impossible for those not using English as first language. The exhibition is quite poor, so much information available should be better conveyed. Looks dated Says allow 2 hours for a visit but we were out in an hour including the guided tour.

Great tour

Anne was a great guide, she told us many interesting stories that made our trip to the Oxford castle and prisons enjoyable.

An enjoyable experience on a cold day.

I spent about two hours exploring the mound, browsing in the shop and going on a tour with the knowledgeable Jade. A very positive experience with the opportunity to return to some areas to read information boards and get a closer look.

Good Tourist Guide, Ann

Ann was a good lovely tourist guide and took good care of our whole group. Her speaking was clear and easy understanding especially a foreigner as me. Her time control was good, too.

Family Tour

Our tour guide was Anne. She was fabulous. She was very knowledgeable and knew the answers to all our extra questions. The castle & prison wasn't huge but it was definitely worth it. We had kids from 8 years old and a teen and they both enjoyed it. I would recommend this tour to any family.

Jade did great tour

Jade did an excellent job informative and she kept it fun. I would definitely recommend this tour. Make sure you’re wearing running shoes

Good tour

Very good tour of the castle. Definitely Worth going. Fun and informative and amazing view after 160 steps of Oxford! not too expensive

Our WI Trip

We had a brilliant guided tour with Jade, she was an excellent guide. It was fascinating the stories or the castle and jail and all it's history.

A snack not a meal!

The guided post of the tour was good and made interesting but the rest was very poor. Like a 1980's museum visit. Old photo panels and nothing really interactive. Only a few jail cells and a couple of rooms. Not worth the money I'm afraid.

Informative tour

Great tour guide, very enthusiastic and informative. Learnt lots of new information. Had the option to go up the tower or not.

Tour of Oxford Castle and Prison

Brilliant tour. Jade the tour guide was superb. Very informative but made it fun aswell. She’s a credit to you. Many thanks all :)

Great tour-interesting history and views

We had a great tour with Catherine. She was very informative and fielded all of our small group’s many questions. The View from the top of the tower was amazing! The crypt was a favorite as was climbing the old keep hillock. Much history to be learned.

The Castle/Prison Tour is well worth your time

Interesting tour with a knowledgeable and enthusiastic guide (Jade). Didn't do the tower climb, but the video substitute was helpful.

Great place to visit

Guide very knowledgeable interesting tour of Castle tower (100+steps) great view from top and prison through the ages - up to recent times

A visit highly recommended

Thoroughly enjoyed our tour of Oxford Castle and Prison, our guide was Ellie, she made it for us, was absolutely brilliant at guiding us with knowledge and humour.Lucy Worsley watch out !!

Great tour

Was a great tour and really informative. Jade was super knowledgable and entertaining. The castle has a dark and interesting history that is definitely worth seeing.

Great value tour

Our tour guide was 'Ellie,' and she was fantastic. Full of knowledge, enthusiasm and kept our 6-year-old and 9-year-old engaged when questions were asked. She really helped place you in the period of time she was informing you about. Would highly recommend seeking a tour with Ellie as the tour guide. A+++

Well worth the tour of Oxford Castle and Prison

Excellent tour, Anne was very knowledgeable and looks like she loves her job. The history is very interesting as it spans many centuries, from the 11th to the 20th. Definitely recommend doing the tour.

Wonderful experience and appealing history

Fascinating history at Oxford Castle & Prison. We especially loved the tour guided by Anne - incredibly knowledgeable and engaging. Highly recommend!

A Fascinating Place

A fascinating place. Our guide Katherine was very personable and did a really nice job. So much history, much of it bad. A definite must see when in Oxford.

A fun tour with a great guide

Aidan was a fantastic guide. He shared many stories and facts with enthusiasm and drama. We enjoyed engaging with the history of the castle and being able to get a sense of times of the past.

Excellent tour

This tour was one of the best we took on our trip to England. Jade the tour guide was fabulous. She made the tour very enjoyable and entertaining while giving us the historical information.

Go for it!

Amazing visit with Jade! Loved every second of it. Must have been her last visit of the day and she still delivered as if it were her first. She was mindful of everyone and cracker occasional jokes that were just perfect.

Oxford prison

Aidan was great. Very knowledgeable and told great stories. He made sure we were included in his tour. The castle has a lot of history.

Morning tour of Oxford Castle & Prison

One of my favorite tours in Oxford! Our tour guide, Anne, was enthusiastic, informative, and funny. The castle/prison has a fascinating history- so many of the stories were literally jaw dropping. 10/10 would recommend!!

Interesting and fun - worth going

Our guide, Jada, did a fantastic job of providing us with historical facts, context and did it in a way that was fun and entertaining. The history of the fortress, castle and prison is fascinating and really came to life as we walked through the various parts. The view from St George's Tower was amazing--looking out over Oxford. Well worth going to--especially for families since older children can learn without even realizing they are learning history. We also learned where some of our "sayings" came from.

Great place to visit

Talia gave us a great tour, with witty commentary throughout, brilliant. Fantastic view from the top of the tower. The place is well laid out, but does have a far few steps.

Thrilling experience

We just visited the Oxford Prison and Castel. Our tour guide Talia was just amazing. Her enthusiasm and cheerful nature was something that made the tour exceptionally enjoyable. A must visit. Thank you so much Talia

Great Staff!

Visiting from US, first castle I’ve toured so can’t compare it to much. However I can say that our tour guide Lydia was amazing and very knowledgeable. Great energy paired with an infectious smile! Neat history, will be back! -Mike

5 Star Aidan

Aidan was very knowledgable and made the whole tour experience and absolute pleasure. I would certainly recommend to friends, family and others.

Very atmospheric

Visited Oxford for the day and decided to try the castle. Booked the trip easily and found it to be very relaxing and enjoyable. Our guide was very knowledgeable and was able to answer any question thrown at him which was impressive. The site is smaller than I imagined but it still took over an hour. One thing to point out is that some of site/stairwells are very tight and if you’re unsteady on your feet or have any issues with claustrophobia could make it unpleasant The stairwell to the top of the tower has a very low ceiling height which makes it interesting going up stairs with your head down. One of our group is 6’3” and they found it a challenge Overall it’s a great place to visit and the staff are very knowledgeable

Slow tills

We were both looking forward to this unfortunately we arrived at 2oclock our booking time but the 2 ladies on the tills were so slow it took 10 minutes to get served a lad served us and said we could get the next slot but it would be an extra £5 for the change the tickets were very expensive anyway so we decided to go on our booked time but lose 10 minutes I guess in hind sight we should have got there a bit earlier but the £5 extra charge he imposed was not great.

Oxford castle

Our guide Ellie, was superb, knowledgeable and fun to spend time with, her demeanour was very professional and she kept in sync with the time periods she was describing

Amazing guided tour

Aidan was very friendly and welcoming which made the guided tour a very pleasant experience. It did not feel rushed and therefore each part of the tour was well explained and opportunities for questions were plentiful.

Great family experience

We went as 3 generations of a family and we all really enjoyed the tour. Jade, our tour guide was excellent, really knowledgeable and humorous. She kept us all engaged for the whole tour (including a 10 year old who generally finds things like this really boring - but even if he really enjoyed it!) The hour flew by and we all learned something new. It was also great to go up to the top of the mound to get a view of the city. Would definitely recommend this as a great thing to do in Oxford.

Hidden gem

Been many times to Oxford but this is our first time on the castle and prisión tour. Very good interesting, very informative, not too long, great souvenir photo. Well recommended

Jail time served

Our guide, Jade, was extraordinary. Fun and friendly! Cool and creepy stories along the tour, let us know some more about Oxford's history.

This was amazing 🤩

This was really cool and interesting!! My daughter was very sad because the tour ended so soon. I also had a problem with not being able to sit in every room. Otherwise, my family had fun and want to come again!