English Heritage Helmsley Castle Review
Helmsley Castle
North Yorkshire
Reviewed by Nicola Wilson
“Amazing!”
My family and I recently visited Helmsley Castle in April 2015. Helmsley Castle is an English Heritage site situated in the beautiful North Yorkshire Moors and stands proudly overlooking the very traditional market town of Helmsley. The Castle itself is in Helmsley town centre. There are lots of “touristy” things to do in and around Helmsley itself. I have found these to include: Yorkshire Bus Tours (located in the town centre), Duncombe Park and Birds of Prey Centre, Helmsley Walled Garden, Market Town, Picnic Area and Craft Centre and Woodland Walk by the National Trust (Helmsley to Rievaulx Walk with its terrace and temples). I recommend this English Heritage site to everyone as a great starting point.
The Castle was converted to stone in 1186 by Robert de Roos and later sold to Richard III in 1478. It was first a Medieval Fortress then a Tudor Mansion then a Civil War Stronghold and lastly a Victorian Ruin. This 900 year old site has some immense history and it was reflected and displayed very well.
We were greeted with an impressive Tactile Model of the Castle which got the kids excited about what they where going to see. The Castles ruins are very well kept and there is plenty of it still remaining. We found the Audio Tour of the grounds to be very informative and broke up the information into detailed but manageable sections. The site was amazingly clean and tidy.
We enjoyed the Tudor mansion, it is beautifully restored. The mansion’s exhibitions are very ‘hands-on’. On the bottom floor there are some great displays from the ‘Civil War Stronghold’. The kids found a gun; you could see how it fired and of course they found this very interesting! They also looked at some examples of an actual key to a lock, they designed their own floor mosaic and used a computer to view a visual tour of the site. The top floor of the mansion is beautifully decorated and set out as a luxurious Tudor mansion with artefacts, large factual books full of information, games and books from the era. I particularly loved the views from the Tudor style windows in the restored mansion.
The family loved the “Bronzed archers that are ready to battle” that stood outside the Castle’s Gate. My children had an opportunity to copy the poses. Helmsley is a great place for photo opportunities of the great views from the top of the mounds of the Inner and Outer ditches. Everything is open and well preserved, we climbed and explored everything. There are also bridges, little rooms on rooms and staircases you can look around. The site is well integrated with the natural wildlife and I had taken some great pictures of robins. Apart from the Tudor mansion and the English Heritage shop this site is open to the elements. The public can get into and explore the Inner and Outer Ditch on the Helmsley Trail mapped out by the audio tour. The staff were very polite and helpful. There is plenty of information and books you can purchased in the English Heritage shop on top of the free audio tour and the free leaflets you receive.
The car park costs money but it is situated in the centre of everything so I believe it’s worth the money. It has a very clean and handy toilet just off the car park. Helmsley is a very traditional market town. We could tell that the people of Helmsley are proud of their town as it is so well kept. There is a clear picturesque stream running through it. It was a hot day and the kids loved playing in the stream. The Castle is surrounded by some great tearooms, bakeries, traditional sweet shops and traditional gift shops and pubs.
We loved this visit and we award Helmsley Castle with a 5 out of 5 stars. I definitely recommend this Castle to visit. It is a major part of “the Helmsley Experience” and it’s an amazing site. I believe that the admission price for a family ticket is reasonable. The car park costs extra however, this is worth the price as there is plenty to do within the town as a whole. I didn’t like the sudden drops over small walls leading down to the inner and outer ditch; they were very unexpected. I also wish the staff were able to walk the grounds; as there weren’t many customers that day.
Overall an amazing day.
Rating: 5/5 
Tickets (with Gift Aid): Adult £5.40 (£6), Child £3.20 (£3.60), Family £14 (£15.60).
English Heritage membership starts from £41 and gives you unlimited access to castles and gardens, historic houses and abbeys, and kids go free…
For more information visit www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/helmsley-castle.
Helmsley Heritage, Castlegate, Helmsley, North Yorkshire, YO62 5AB
