Norwich Castle Reviews Summary

Historical Significance & Exhibits

Pros:

• "Such a great historic place, you can have different tours of different places of the castle not accessible to the public for an extra price on entrance fee."
• "The castle certainly has a lot to offer itself. History consisting off Romans/Boudicca, Anglo Saxon, Norman, medieval, Victorian, British empire and Egyptian."
• "Being able to see some of the items found from this local shipwreck was incredible, especially the silks and wine bottles that had laid undisturbed for over 300 years."
• "A fascinating display of artifacts from the wreck of the 'Gloucester', along with a history of the event."
• "It holds over three million objects within its varied collections ranging from Natural History, Social History, World Collections and Archaeology to Contemporary Art and Regimental History."
• "The most interesting and best-loved collection within entomology is the Fountaine-Neimy collection."
• "The museum provides a fascinating glimpse into the history of East Anglia and the city of Norwich."

Cons:

• "Strangely laid out with a reasonable art exhibit mixed up with very dated natural history and social history exhibits."
• "Really disappointed to find most of the castle closed and covered in scaffolding."
• "Much is hidden behind plasterboard."
• "Castle is shut, part of the galleries was out of bounds due to weddings yet charged full price."
• "Natural History exhibits slightly limited to their Victorian origins."
• "Unfortunately the castle is undergoing major refurb so it was more like a visit to a museum & art gallery."
• "A very large number of the exhibitions were closed, plus many empty display cases."

Staff & Service

Pros:

• "Staff are nice and kind, a little bit expensive, but still worth it."
• "All staff were very friendly, and I did love the adopt the artefact initiative which I thought was very novel."
• "The staff are helpful and friendly."
• "Special mention to the welcoming and helpful staff."
• "Friendly and endlessly help, really brightened me and my family's day."
• "The people who work there are extremely knowledgeable about the history of the Castle."
• "The staff here are so passionate about the castle and local history and they can tell you such wonderful stories about the place."

Cons:

• "Staff were closing down and turning everything of 15 minutes before it was due to close, and mostly had zero interest in being helpful beforehand."
• "The staff wandered past talking very loudly and jangled their keys very loudly."
• "None of the museum staff could tell us anything about the castle other than it was under a nine million pounds renovation."
• "The second tour guide was quite dull and the dungeon tour consisted of only 4 small rooms."
• "He didn't take too much notice of the displays, and I wasn't able to immerse myself in the displays as I needed to keep an eye on him."
• "Such a shame the disinterested lady who happily took our money at the entrance didn't think to point out these things..."
• "The staff we met around the museum were pleasant and helpful."

Facilities & Accessibility

Pros:

• "The Castle Mall car park is right next door to the Castle so parking is no problem."
• "Small café on site which supports the building upkeep and provides a resting area."
• "Their are rest rooms and disabled facilities."
• "We found plenty to see and read, had easy access to everywhere, and a nice little cafe in the centre."
• "Food in cafe is good and reasonably priced."
• "There are a few disabled parking spaces right outside the Castle but I'm not sure how you get to them."
• "There are lifts provided so pushchairs and wheelchairs can be accommodated to all levels."

Cons:

• "NO DISABLED PARKING ON SITE!!!! Closest public car park full as was 2nd closest !!!"
• "Cafe shut."
• "Toilet facilities are poor."
• "When we visited all the lifts were out of order."
• "Missing maps too as it is hard to figure our which room you have seen or not."
• "The coffee shop is limited in what they serve."
• "Cafe was near to closing when we went at 4pm."

Value for Money

Pros:

• "Beautiful place, definitely worth a visit."
• "It's well worth a visit and is an enjoyable place with very friendly staff."
• "A yearly membership for two is less than £70 and under 4s are free so it's now an excellent deal."
• "Altogether a really good day for only £7 per person."
• "Great cafe, really lovely food with prices that didn't make you cringe."
• "The food was amazing and excellent value."
• "On an up note the cafe is very good and yet fairly priced."

Cons:

• "In my and my girlfriend's Opinion Norwich castle Museum is too expensive for what they have at the present."
• "Entry was surprisingly expensive at over £9 per adult and £8 per child. If you go in the last hour of the day it's only £2. Bargain."
• "The castle at the minute is a waste of money."
• "Very overpriced tickets."
• "£9.90 in to find out once in the main hall that a lot of things have been put into storage due to building works plus they now charge an extra £4.50 to visit the only bit I really wanted to see, dungeons!!"
• "Really wanted to go but discovered that it is £10 entrance fee and that doesn't even get you all the way around..... seems you have to pay again to see the dungeon and battlements!"
• "comes to a castle but get told you can’t see it,, absolute waste of time. a museum like this should be free,, absolute waste of money."

Overall Experience

Pros:

• "Even though we weren't able to go into the castle we had a fantastic tour guide who was able to explain the castle's history and give us great insight into how the castle was used through the years."
• "Visited here today and got here early for both the battlement tours and the dungeon tour."
• "A fantastic place for all of the family with a variety of different activities in every area."
• "A really interesting few hours, even more so because it was very quiet so it was virtually one to one with the guides."
• "Fantastic day out. So much to do!"
• "Norwich Castle is a must-visit destination for history buffs and architecture enthusiasts alike."
• "Had the most amazing time here... It's worth every penny."

Cons:

• "Check what is open before you pay to get in! The ground floor of the keep was shut off completely, many other parts closed and the dungeons fully booked."
• "It wasn't what I was expecting. More for kids than adults, everything was interesting to read."
• "Had to pre-book and not really highlighted on the website that the castle isn't available to be looked around just lots of galleries and some teapots."
• "Couldn't even walk around outside of it as building work everywhere."
• "Well that was a complete waste of time. Visited Norwich for the first time in our lives and decided to visit the castle."
• "If it hadn't been free entry (with a lottery ticket purchase) we would have waited until the full experience is available."
• "Some parts of the museum were closed, so be prepared to see less."