Sandal Castle Reviews Summary

Admission and Parking

Pros:

• "Access is free."
• "Free entry and parking at designated hours."
• "Free parking and free to walk round, can't ask for much more."
• "Admission is free. There is a lovely cafe, with meals, cakes drinks and toilets."
• "Free."
• "Parking can be awkward when it gets busy but the car park is a generous size."
• "Free parking for around 10 cars."
• "The car park is on the small side but on the plus side there is currently no charge."

Cons:

• "The carpark is small so you may have to park nearby and walk."
• "Car park is quite small for a tourist attraction, only fitting about 20 cars."
• "There’s free parking available for about 10-15 cars."
• "Parking is free, and usually spaces available. Only downside is the amount of litter."
• "Car park isn’t massive. You can park on the road though."
• "Parking charged at Pugney's but small car park at the castle is free."
• "Would be 5 stars if the decking was fixed so you could safely climb to the top."
• "Free small carpark off Manygates lane."

Views and Scenery

Pros:

• "Fantastic views of the surrounding countryside and is worth a visit just for that!"
• "Lovely views there, great for children to run around."
• "Wow didn't know there was castle ruins in Wakefield...found this by mistake...so beautiful!"
• "Views from the tower are excellent."
• "Great views - the only mitigating factor really."
• "Great views from top."
• "Nice old ruins overlooking Wakefield from its hilltop location."
• "Beautiful scenery despite Wakefield in the background."

Cons:

• "Too much over growth in parts!"
• "The view is stunning and though there is little of the Castle remaining."
• "You can see why it was built there, with views from all sides. More impressive than Pontefract."
• "The moat is full of excrement, which me and my wife loved."
• "Lived down the road from here all my life and never been."
• "Nice place, with a good view of the city. But it is hard to access the castle itself."
• "There's a small car park at the castle itself and the side streets have plenty of parking."
• "Great views of Wakefield Town centre, Emley more mast and much more. The only problem is all the litter."

Cafe and Facilities

Pros:

• "There is a cafe but it's only open Friday to Sunday."
• "Enjoyed a walk around Sanal Castle with Robert and dogs on a cold but dry day views are great will visit again with a flask of coffee if café closed."
• "Really nice castle to visit with a great view of Wakefield. Easy access with sturdy stairs and well taken care of. A few careless visitors leave trash around and should be ashamed for doing so. Plenty of nice benches to enjoy the views. Great cafe with friendly staff."
• "Impressive moats and mounds. Car park, cafe, informative boards. Not much castle. Great views from top."
• "There are a few signs offering information about the site including where many of the rooms were and how the castle was destroyed. Paths are well maintained and there is a small accessible car park. Most of the castle is wheelchair accessible too. There are also around 10 benches to sit on at various points."
• "Worth a visit after reading a little about its history. Admission is free. There is a lovely cafe, with meals, cakes drinks and toilets."
• "Nice little undulating jaunt round the castle. Can reach pugneys water park from here, just walk down the hill. Cafe ok, bit slow on the serving side, but scones were lovely."
• "Really great place to come and visit, the view from the top viewing point is amazing and looks out over most of Wakefield and beyond. Nice wide and easy to walk path, good for walking dogs and plenty of space around the castle itself."

Cons:

• "There is a car park."
• "The car park is quite small for a tourist attraction, only fitting about 20 cars but people move about quite frequently so if you do get stuck for a space it's not normally for long."
• "There is a cafe but it's only open Friday to Sunday which is a shame, I went on a Wednesday and there were lots of visitors. It's very popular with dog walkers."
• "On doing a search we found "cafe on site" there was a building shuttered with a notice saying CLOSED FROM 31 AUGUST FOR ONE WEEK. The date? 29th. No toilets so visit was short."
• "I’ve been visiting the castle for a few years, it’s half way for my friend and I to meet. We used to love nothing more than a catch up in the cafe over a coffee, but after our last experience, we won’t be returning. What a depressing place to be."
• "There is an onsite cafe which is hardly ever open."
• "I always love popping in to Sandal Castle when I'm in the UK. There's more renovations happening at the moment but it's a nice little walk around with views over Wakefield and Pugneys."
• "Small cafe and visitors centre, closed early due to covid."

Historical and Educational Value

Pros:

• "There are several information boards around the castle describing the history of the castle which is very interesting."
• "Great for lovers of history and lovers of the countryside."
• "Visitor centre on site."
• "There are information boards all around telling you the history of the castle."
• "Sandal Castle is a fantastic ancient monument with a fascinating story."
• "Really nice little place, great for a nice saunter or a picnic. The history of the area is incredible and information boards are plentiful."
• "Very interesting site, fascinating insight into the history of the area."
• "You can either park here or include in a walk around the lake at Pugneys Country Park. Interesting storyboards explaining the history."

Cons:

• "Not a lot here. Some information boards and a lot of steps."
• "There is also not much info about the castle itself or what happened to it."
• "A great place to visit but the experience could be so much better needs money spending on it way past it's best piles of litter in the castle ruins come on you can do better."
• "There's a lot of the castle remaining which is good for those who like history."
• "I enjoyed the view and the heritage site of the castle. The food in the cafe was delicious. But the negative point is that the castle is heaped with garbage and litter."
• "It has decent walkways around it and to the area that would form the keep. You can easily imagine the views this would have given the defenders of the castle."
• "The youth of today don't seem to understand the can of lager requirement to visit when unsupervised, although remain boisterous."
• "This seems to be a really nice place to go out for a walk or a jog."

Overall Maintenance and Cleanliness

Pros:

• "Ruined, but a fabulous vista of the surrounding countryside. Plenty of benches to sit and look at the view. Short circular walk round the exterior of the castle."
• "Nice old ruins overlooking Wakefield from its hilltop location."
• "Been here several times, once during a frosty, sunny morning and the remains of the castle are very good."
• "Really lovely castle ruins area, there is a few walks off in different directions a lookout area and some info boards so you can understand what you might have been looking at."
• "Lovely place for a bit of a walk and fresh air. Car park is quite small for a tourist attraction, only fitting about 20 cars but people move about quite frequently so if you do get stuck for a space it's not normally for long."
• "Really nice castle to visit with a great view of Wakefield. Easy access with sturdy stairs and well taken care of."
• "Such a calming peaceful place. Plenty of ruins to explore and see."
• "Impressive moats and mounds. Car park, cafe, informative boards. Not much castle. Great views from top."

Cons:

• "Not much left of the original castle, however the ruins together with the new walk way and steps provide amazing 360° panoramic views of Wakefield and its boundaries."
• "I’ve been visiting the castle for a few years, it’s half way for my friend and I to meet. We used to love nothing more than a catch up in the cafe over a coffee, but after our last experience, we won’t be returning. What a depressing place to be."
• "There is an onsite cafe which is hardly ever open."
• "The only problem is all the litter. There's always trash scattered about and it makes the place feel neglected and dirty."
• "I love this place, you can feel the history as you walk through the ancient ruins of what once was, I visited on a night to set up my new tent ⛺️ and mess with the Drone. You can't stay long when it is dark, as the creepers will soon arrive, for wedding photography drop me a line."
• "A great place to visit but the experience could be so much better needs money spending on it way past it's best piles of litter in the castle ruins come on you can do better."
• "There's a small car park at the castle itself and the side streets have plenty of parking, and the coffee shop is really good."
• "There's not a lot of the original castle still standing but there are a few information boards to read about the history of the castle and there's a 360 degree view of the surrounding countryside and town."