Colchester Castle Reviews Summary

Guided Tours

Pros:

• "Definitely worth the extra £3/£2 on top for the 45 guided tour to the vaults in the foundations and up on the roof itself."
• "Very interesting place and you really must do the tour which covers the cellar and Roman foundations."
• "We decided to take a guided tour by Alan, he made it informative, funny with facts and details which we were unaware of."
• "Our guide, Claire, was very enthusiastic and knowledgeable."
• "I recommend paying the extra £3.85 to do the tour of the vaults, which are the original foundations of the Roman temple."
• "Take the guided tour extra information and extremely interesting from the basement and dungeons to the rooftop."
• "Guided tour well worth the extra cost for access to parts you cannot go yourself together with the informative commentary from knowledgeable, friendly guide."

Cons:

• "The roof tour could have been a bit longer with more time for photos and maybe a bit of info about the surrounding area."
• "Unfortunately we didn't get to go on the actual tour as by then my youngest daughter had a melt-down just as we were about to start so that's another £15 wasted."
• "The old staircase and vaults at the entrance aren't accessible for some reason."
• "We went on Halloween night they had put on which we were really disappointed with tbh, we thought would be decorated in the theme but it was just as normal."

Value for Money

Pros:

• "Overall, I thought it decent value for money."
• "Concession prices for students too!"
• "Exploring using the interactive tablet and tokens to access different areas of the castle is very reasonably priced."
• "Excellent museum and castle, well worth the entry fee."
• "Would definitely recommend for families and will be coming back to explore again!"
• "At the moment, it's only an extra £3 on the ticket price and you can you as many times as you like in a year."
• "For £10.95 each I thought this was a pretty good offer."

Cons:

• "The visit was easily done in less than an hour so the price was a little on the high price to be honest."
• "Not too expensive but probably not value for money."
• "Entry fee I found a bit steep and no concession for seniors."
• "Having paid £25 for 2 adults I felt on this occasion it wasn’t worth the money."
• "The museum itself was overpriced and took about 40 mins to walk around... for £50 for the family to get in its a rip-off and definitely not worth it."
• "Free to view from the outside but a bit pricey for a museum if you add on the extra cost of the vaults and roof tour."
• "I do think charging £12 for an adult ticket is not worth what's inside as you can see much larger museums for free like the British museum."

Accessibility

Pros:

• "Good history, lovely gardens for walking around, especially in the summer, full disable Access."
• "The castle itself is a grand structure, very accessible and good tours all round."
• "There is access for wheelchair users and people with reduced mobility."
• "Easy access into main building, lift to 1st floor."
• "Fantastic displays, really laid out well, fully accessible for wheelchairs and most disabilities."

Cons:

• "Additionally prior to my visit, I had emailed regarding Disabled Tickets and they were not very helpful."
• "Not great for people with mobility problems though. A lot of steps."
• "Only down side is no dogs are allowed in the grounds at all which was a shame."

Interactive Exhibits

Pros:

• "I loved the interactive bits and they definitely engage an interesting approach to learning history, accessible to all ages!"
• "Lots of interactive educational displays for kids (of all ages) and photo ops."
• "The staff are friendly and helpful plus there's lots hands on exhibits."
• "A great place to visit. Lots of interactive bits for children."
• "The interactive tablet is great, really adds to the experience."
• "Kids going to love this place as there is lots to do for them including games and interactive exhibitions."
• "The interactive exhibits were fun yet informative and interesting."

Cons:

• "Currently some of the more interactive displays are not available due to Covid-19 restrictions and the dungeons and main staircase were also closed."
• "Especially considering that all of the interactive things we touched didn't work."
• "Over the last 8 years the exhibits have hardly ever worked or randomly work."
• "This time however felt sterile and like any old museum with an abundance of broken pots that have been stuck back together on display."
• "Half of the ‘touch me’ buttons were broken."
• "Nice history but during Covid it's a bit clunky using the virtual reality handheld tablets."
• "I'd say I was disappointed with how commercialized the inside is."

Staff and Volunteers

Pros:

• "The VERY BEST part of our visit was our chat with Martin, one of the volunteers, who was extremely knowledgeable about everything."
• "The staff were really friendly, accommodating, welcoming, easy to work with."
• "The staff were very friendly, happy and helpful which added to the experience."
• "Staff were helpful and friendly throughout and it wasn't expensive either."
• "The attendants were very helpful and were very enthusiastic telling you about the history and informed us of additional tours in the basement and roof, which we did."
• "Staff was polite and did a great job all things considered."
• "Staff we brilliant and very helpful with any questions we had."

Cons:

• "They watched my 9 year old sister like she was going to steal?!?!"
• "Would rate 0 stars if I could, incredibly racist staff members."
• "Racially motivated staff, overpriced and not worth it."
• "This sort of behaviour is inexcusable from the staff, if you aren’t white I wouldn’t recommend going to this castle as the staff clearly don’t know how to compose themselves around people of colour."