York Castle Museum

Located almost right in the centre of York this is a lovely way to spend a few hours with the family. Very much a labour of love I think, least you can't help but think so as you observe all the minute details in the shop windows as you walk down the historical recreation of the street from the past. When we went there was also a fun exhibit on British culture from the 1950's that conveyed a proper sense of the time and place.

There are eating options here and whilst there are no complaints with the food, seating was hard to come by at peak times so plan accordingly. Parking likewise could be a little snug and parking charges (high so standard for York) should probably be accounted for when planning your visit. Otherwise, its an unreserved recommendation.

We had pre booked a tour of the Victorian street for the 22nd October and our group of three arrived for 3:00 and were met at the door where hand sanitising and social distancing measures were instructed to be followed at all times.
Our tour guide James was absolutely fantastic, articulating bringing the street to life with his passionate tales touched with humour and helping make the tour so informative and interesting. The street shops and their contents are all authentic and along with the original cobbles and doorways really do provide you with a sense of stepping back in time. We will be
back when restrictions are eased to explore the remainder of the museum. I would advise anyone to visit and support the museum in the meantime through the organised tours, you will not regret it.

I went here on a return visit to York. It is one of the most interesting museums in the area as it has something for everyone ranging from old toys, fashion through the ages, dated rooms, a 60s area and a prison. The highlight is the Victorian street which is both lovely and educational. There is a lot to see and you can spend several hours here which makes it excellent value for money.

The York Castle museum is well worth a visit but the enrance charge is expensive.
it has sections not only about the history of York but also more general sections like the sixties. The Victorian street is very good.

Take a trip back in time to old town York. Situated in the old prison building, York Castle Museum puts on a spectacular display for all.

Entry prices are decent, with my entry costing 5 pounds and Lana 11. Children under 5 are free!

The museum takes you back to a traditional Kirkgate (Victorian York Street) where local characters are out and about. There are authentic shops that you can visit (My favorite was the old fashioned sweet shop!). The street makes you feel like you are back outside, this is a slice of history for all.

After walking the Streets of Kirkgate, you arrive into the Castle Prison. As the museum is build in a Georgian Prison, the cellars are set up the same as they were many years ago. You may see Dick Turpin wandering around the prison sites.

After braving the prison, we then have a tour of 1914, with many military memrobilia and facts. Many stories are told about the Yorkshire men who lives and also died in the war. After this moving tribute, you move to the more flamboyant Sixties.

After this we see many trains, including the Royal Train, you can walk through and see many pieces of artifacts from many eras.


The Museum will take a good part of a day to get through, so make sure you have time to enjoy and learn about one of the haunted cities in the UK!

Decided the grandkids should visit something different so took them to York Caste Museum. I was worried they would not like it, but I could not have been more wrong, they loved it they engaged will all the exhibits and asked lots of questions. At 6 and 8 years old this was a major result and as it happens I enjoyed it as well. Will certainly recommend other grannies take their grandkids

When someone asks a question like ‘is the 17-24/student entry price for only students’ I recommend your staff be trained to not state ‘it’s because you’re poor’. Whilst we can appreciate the underlying reasons for it this reason certainly does not apply to everyone and can still affect people over 24. A simple ‘to encourage younger people to visit’ may be a better line to follow.

My partner and I felt insulted by the inclination that we are both poor, are In debt and cannot afford a simple museum visit (of which is well overpriced given the contents and quality of the exhibits). We will not be coming back as we felt insulted walking in and walked out disappointed.

Really worth a visit to gain an insight into the history of York. The only slight niggle was that the tour of the museum was not included in the price of the prison ticket. (I had been aware of this at the time of booking) what I hadn't realised was that you could still see the prison as part of the self directed tour. Maybe it would be worth having a combi ticket if you wished to do both.

That said, the guided prison tour was really good, we found out this now only runs once a week, so if you do get the opportunity to go then do book. Its interesting to learn about what life had been like as a prisoner, and the famous prisoners that York Castle Prison housed. Our guide, Gareth(?), was really knowledgeable. (I was impressed how he remembered all the facts he had to tell us as part of the tour). There's plenty of opportunity to ask questions and take photos etc.

We also visited the main museum, really enjoyed the section about toys and also the Kirkgate area.
I would only probably visit again if they had a new exhibition, but well worth a visit if you haven't been before.

The indoor street is worth a visit in itself. I would like to see more lesser known social artefacts than all of the crowd pleasing beatles, twiggy etc. That you see everywhere else, it gives a bit of a flattening affect to the past. We thought the projections in the cells were affective and appreciated the nuance to the exhibits given over to modern conflict.

It was a little too busy during half term week, better use of advanced booking could be made to plan numbers, the system seemed to be down when we arrived and our details were taken on pen and paper. Some features did seem to be broken during and the number of interactive items into which you had to put a pound or two that wouldn't work unless you did so was frustrating after paying quite a high entry fee.

The tiger that came to tea exhibition was also a little dissapointing. It could have been so much better if an attendant was employed for that area both to keep parts of the exhibit tidy and to help people get more from the short experience.

The toilet area suffered a little for the high visitor numbers(!)

Overwhelmingly we left feeling a bit sad for the museum and its staff. Obviously there are people that work there who work hard, who plan and currate and likely love the place. Who probably have all sorts of ideas they would like to put in place, and visitors willing to queue to see them. Ultimately museums like this are so much for the public good they should be securely funded and given greater freedom to do what they undoubtedly do well when given free rein and security.

Tickets to the museum had to be pre-booked, so I assumed that it would not be too busy. However, they had obviously sold lots of tickets, because it was uncomfortably crowded especially in the enclosed areas. It's a big museum, with plenty to see. Parts of the museum were interesting, especially the costume displays, but I have seen Victorian streets and First World War 'experiences' done better elsewhere. Nice coffee from the cafe.