Crumlin Road Gaol

I would highly recommend visiting Crumlin Road Gaol. Claire our guide was extremely informative and professional. She explained at great length the history of the gaol and we were able to visit the tunnel linking the gaol with the Court House opposite. Inside the gaol was very cold and foreboding and you got an insight into the conditions the prisoners had to live in at that time.

Crumlin Road gaol is around a mile and a half north west of the city centre on foot.

On my journey there, I walked through the Lower Shankill area which was an eye opening experience in itself.

The prison opened in 1846 and closed in 1996. It is apparently modelled on HMP Pentonville and one can only assume it to have been a grim experience as an inmate.

Seventeen prisoners were executed at the gaol over the years and the former grave of one of them can be viewed.

From the early Seventies, the prison population expanded greatly due to the ‘Troubles’,

Famous prisoners included Eamon De Valera, Rev Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness.

I paid the concessional rate of £10 including £1 booking fee online in advance of my visit.

This was a tour of the goal conducted as 'virtual' because of the Covid restrictions but I found that a better experience because I was able to walk around in my own time. The videos provided along the way were informative and appropriate in explaining and setting the scene. Overall I thought this was incredible value for money at £10 and I would certainly recommend it and personally I would visit again on a future trip to Belfast

Halloween jail of terror??

I got more scares on Barry's ghost train!!

I have been to several of these over the years including florida, Blackpool and Derry/ London Derry but this was just pathetic!
Characters standing around with Halloween masks, very little in the way of scares!

No atmosphere not even that dark.

This is advertised as an 1 hour experience took us 10 mins to go through, there's was 4 of us so this cost £51.

Tickets are not checked as you go in as we just walk in with no one stopping us to ask! This is not a good thing during covid!

I have email them regarding this as well as contacting via social media with no response from them so I will now be forwarded my complaint onto the ASA and trading standards as we as a group feel this was miss sold to us.

All in all save your money and go somewhere else for Halloween unless ur a 5 year old kid.

Really enjoyed the Crumlin Road Gaol tour, our guide Claire was really good and knew a lot about the prison's history. The only shame is, is that you only see a small part of the prison. Tour groups are quite large but as long as the tour guide speaks loudly and you keep up, you should be fine. It's worth booking tickets at least a day beforehand to get cheaper tickets. Also, if you turn up early there's a little exhibit which you can read information about the history of the prison and some artifacts.

I was so excited to go to the jail of horror this year after having a great time around 3 years ago. Was glad it was back after lockdown.
I have never been so disappointed in my life. We queued to get into the tunnel where a FRIENDLY witch told me not to be scared and commented on the clothes I was wearing. We then went up to the jail where we queued for 15 minutes. There was a nun who walked up and down and two other masked figures. Then we went through the hanging cell where they have a CD playing a girl screaming and someone standing there. We then went outside where there were 4 guys with chainsaws, again this wasn’t scary as we were behind about 30 people so we were well aware of what was coming. This then lead to the “circus” which was a tent.. I thought to myself “yes finally something scary”… it was a fully lit conference tent with one clown standing there. Honestly, I’m not even joking you.
Then it was over.
Like £13 and I came across maybe 10 different characters in total.
Will never be back and will make sure others don’t go. Complete waste of money.

Great opportunity to visit this gaol. Man on the gate was lovely. Ate at the Cuffs Bar there (toasted sandwiches) and that was lovely too. The gaol is a beautiful building with the almost derelict Court House opposite (tunnel to view between the two). Eerie and sad and scary. No guide but video and audio recordings - you could mostly go at your own pace, which was nice. Only not so good bit was the initial briefing video in a small room with, in our case, a total of 6 people - felt a bit claustrophobic, especially given Covid-19.

Entry fee is 15 pounds per person. Quite expensive given nearby castles, which are much more fantastic, charge 6 pounds per entry. You only see one wing of the prison and the interp is all done via video - some of which involves pretty cheesy acting - but at least they are educational. Overall, it’s an interesting site and open on Monday when everything else is closed, but wasn’t worth the 15 pounds per person in our opinion. We felt like 8-10 pounds would have been a more reasonable entry fee.

We had the wonderful Margret as our tour guide, she was so warm and welcoming and had an amazing knowledge of the prison. She answered all of our questions with enthusiasm, and pointed out little details that we wouldn't have otherwise noticed. She was very good at helping us imagine life in the prison and I would recommend the tour to anyone looking to visit.

I have been to Belfast before but this was a first visit to the goal. The guide was very knowledgeable and knew exactly how to pitch her dialogue. There was no sensationalism but the facts spoke for them self. This should be made a compulsory visit to all senior school students as a lesson in not repeating the horrors of the past. What made the visit more poignant was the fact that it was only closed in 1996 - a chilling reminder to all.