Things to Do in Alnwick: Castle, Garden and Barter Books

Alnwick Castle

The big one, and a proper working castle, still home to the Percy family. Kids come for the Harry Potter connection and broomstick training (included in the ticket), grown-ups come for the state rooms, which are absurdly grand and open 10.30am to 4.30pm. The castle says allow at least two to three hours, which in our experience of six and seven year olds means three, plus snacks.

The last fortnight has extras included in admission: Tastes Through Time in the Victorian kitchen on 10 and 11 October, Northumbrian pipes and a Heritage Craft Day on 17 October, and Tom Fool the jester doing shows at 11am, 1pm and 3pm in the Inner Bailey from 18 to 20 October. Then the gates close. The castle's own FAQ says it reopens at the end of March, with no 2027 date given yet.

Buy online if you can. It's about 10% cheaper and the ticket works as an annual pass for open-season days, so if you're back next summer you've already paid.

Price

Online: adult £22, child 5 to 16 £11.60, family £64.20, under 5 free. Gate: adult £24.45, family £71.35

Parking

Shared castle and garden car park, £3.75 a day, card only

Buggy access

Pushchairs allowed, but cobbles, gravel and stairs in places

Check first

Last day of the 2026 season is 20 October; only assistance dogs allowed

The Alnwick Garden

The Grand Cascade is the bit everyone photographs, and the Poison Garden (guided, behind locked gates) is the bit our two would talk about for a week. From 10 October to 1 November it becomes the Pumpkin Garden, with a scavenger hunt included in garden entry and harvest games over half term.

Opening hours shrink as the year goes on: daily 10am to 5pm until 23 October, 10am to 4pm over half term, then Thursday to Sunday only from 2 November, with Winter Lights in the evenings from mid November. From 4 January to 7 February 2027 it's weekends only. Tickets are non-refundable, so look at the forecast before you book.

Price

Garden only: adult £17.90 (£19.70 with Gift Aid), up to 4 children free

Parking

Shared castle and garden car park, £3.75 a day

Toilets

On site

Check first

Dogs only on Thursdays and Sundays until 15 November, on a short lead

Lilidorei

A huge wooden play village with towers, slides and enough rope bridges to lose an afternoon. From 10 October to 1 November it's Spookydorei Days: dressing up, a Spooky or Not So Spooky trail, storytelling and optional trick-or-treat bags. The evening version, Spookydorei Nights, runs 5pm to 9pm from 23 to 31 October, and the garden pitches that one at older children, 11 to 15, with mild jump scares. Know your child. Mine would be under the table.

Price

Garden and Lilidorei: adult £20.30, child 3 to 16 £16.65 (more with Gift Aid)

Parking

Same shared car park as the castle and garden

Buggy access

Mostly outdoors on paths, with climbing frames the buggy won't manage

Check first

No dogs in Lilidorei; Spookydorei Nights needs booking

The Treehouse Restaurant

A restaurant in what the garden calls the largest wooden treehouse in the world, built around 16 lime trees. You don't need a garden ticket just to eat there. Until 2 November it does lunch every day and dinner Thursday to Saturday; after that it closes early in the week, so book. It's a treat rather than a quick refuel, and prices reflect that.

Price

Not listed on the booking page; £5 a head deposit for tables of 6 to 9

Parking

Shared castle and garden car park

Toilets

Check on arrival

Check first

From 2 November it's closed Monday to Wednesday

Barter Books

A huge secondhand bookshop in Alnwick's old Victorian railway station, and home of the original Keep Calm and Carry On poster. Model trains run along the tops of the bookshelves (look up), there's a children's corner, and in winter the fires are lit, which is the closest Northumberland gets to a hug. Free to wander, impossible to leave without a book.

The Station Buffet cafe in the old waiting rooms is good and busy, so go early at weekends. If it rains, this is where half of Alnwick ends up.

Price

Free to browse

Parking

Car park at the shop; free council car parks in town are a short walk

Toilets

Check on arrival

Check first

Open 9am to 7pm daily, cafe 9am to 6pm, closed Christmas Day

Hulne Park

The Duke of Northumberland's walled estate park, open to walkers for free. The routes are long by little-legs standards: the waymarked loops are about 4 miles to Brizlee Tower and nearly 5 to Hulne Priory, so with small children pick a target and turn back when the moaning starts. You go in at Ratten Row, at the bottom of Northumberland Street past St Michael's Church.

The estate's page says it's open 11am until 4pm, when the gates close, and that it sometimes shuts for estate business. No dogs and no bikes, which is the single most common surprise people have here.

Price

Free

Parking

Small free parking area by the Ratten Row entrance, or walk from town

Buggy access

Paths and estate roads; fine with a sturdy pushchair if you stick to them

Check first

Closure dates on the Northumberland Estates page; no dogs or bikes

Bailiffgate Museum and Gallery

The town museum, in a former church just along from the castle gates. It's small, cheap and dry, which on a wet Alnwick afternoon is three good things. The current exhibition, Streets to Sea by Kev Oldham, runs until 1 November. Lifts to every floor, a disabled toilet and baby changing.

Price

Adult £6, child 5 to 16 £1, under 5 free (10% off online)

Parking

2-hour street parking outside; free all-day car park nearby at NE66 1DL

Buggy access

Pushchair and wheelchair access to all areas

Check first

Tue to Sat 10am to 4pm, Sun 11am to 4pm; closed 13 Dec 2026 to 11 Jan 2027

Alnwick Market

Yes, Alnwick has a market. It's in the Market Place every Thursday and Saturday, with a farmers' market on the last Friday of the month. Not a huge one, but it's a good excuse to wander the old streets and the cafes around Bondgate.

Price

Free

Parking

Free town car parks; short stays need a £1 disc

Toilets

Public toilets at The Shambles, 6.30am to 6.30pm, with baby changing

Check first

Stall numbers vary with the weather and season

Aln Valley Railway

A volunteer-run heritage railway from Lionheart station on the edge of town, with steam, heritage diesel and old Pacer trains depending on the day. Running days vary week to week, so check the calendar before you promise anybody a steam engine. The Halloween Weekend is 31 October and 1 November, there's a Christmas Fair on 29 November, and Santa's Steam Train Adventure runs on weekends in December. Dogs ride for £1, except on Santa trains.

Price

Return: adult £12.50, child 3 to 15 £6, family (2+2) £33

Parking

At Lionheart station, NE66 2EZ

Toilets

Tea room and shop at the station

Check first

The running-day calendar; not every day is a steam day

Alnwick Playhouse

The town's theatre, cinema and arts centre on Bondgate Without, with a cafe (the Playhouse Kitchen) that's handy for a hot chocolate. For half term there's Gaby Gulliver's Travels, a 45-minute shadow puppet show for ages 5 and up, on Friday 23 October at 11am and Saturday 24 October at 11am and 1.30pm.

Price

Gaby Gulliver's Travels: £10, child £6

Parking

Free town car parks nearby

Toilets

In the venue

Check first

The kitchen is closed on Sundays

Alnwick Pumpkin Patch

Pick-your-own pumpkins at Broxfield Farm, on three weekends: 10 and 11, 17 and 18, and 24 and 25 October. Booking is through the farm's Facebook page, and the listing says it's pet friendly, with parking and toilets. Wellies. Trust me.

Price

Not published on the listing; check the farm's booking page

Parking

On site at Broxfield Farm, NE66 3RQ

Toilets

Yes, per the listing

Check first

Weekends only, and the field gets muddy after rain

Warkworth Castle

If Alnwick Castle has closed by the time you arrive, English Heritage's Warkworth Castle is a short drive south and stays open: daily, 10am to 5pm, last entry 4.30pm, when we checked. It's a ruin, so the kids get to run about the walls rather than tiptoe past paintings, which is a better fit for some families anyway. The Hermitage across the river opens Sundays and Mondays, 11am to 4pm.

Price

Check the English Heritage page; 15% off booking in advance

Parking

Car park at the castle, free for English Heritage members

Toilets

Yes, on site

Check first

Winter opening days from November; dogs not allowed at the Hermitage