Highcliffe Castle provides a wonderful day out for any visitor, the Castle has come a long way from its derelict state in the 1970s and 1980s, following two devastating fires in the 1960s. But it's not finished. Or in pristine condition. We are not your typical historic building, but we are a partially restored castle. A wonderful, unique and charming partially restored castle. The Castle is open Sunday-Thursday 10am-4pm, the shop is open on Fridays and Saturdays but the main Castle is closed for private functions. Further information can be found on the Castle website.
Interesting place to visit. Restored after a fire in the 60's. Sympathetically restored building. I think it would benefit from a bit more restoration and some furniture. The location is excellent with a lovely beach and woodland walks. The staff are excellent and go above and beyond to make your visit enjoyable. Parking is payable separately and is around PS2 per hour depending how long you stay as it's controlled by the council
Never been before or even heard of it. Amazing ongoing restoration efforts, still a long way to go - but interesting. Cafe closed for restoration & the van was struggling with demand. Fairly easy Access to the beach for a wander on the sandy/stony surface & amazing views of my beloved Isle of Widget!!
It looks amazing when you enter and it is a big church at the front. The car park is behind and then you can, after paying for the car park , visit the castle or the beach. For the beach you can go down 100 steps for your right or a zig zag ramp for your left. It is very nice if you go with children, dogs or bicycles. Near the castle it is a coffee shop with a large terrace serving expensive coffee or tea. There are also cakes and sandwiches. It is nice to sit down for a while and enjoy the views of the castle where the main entrance looks directly to the needles in Isla of White. The story says that the previous house was near the sea but the sea itself over the years engulfed the cliff and after it was abandoned, it was destroyed. The new building is superb and you can visit paying 9PS per person. It may be worth it to visit but we didn't. The toilets near the car park need supervision.
We were lucky enough to get married at Highcliffe Castle last month. On the day itself and in the run up Gracie and the team made sure everything ran flawlessly and we really appreciated their flexibility with us, especially as we don't live locally. I could not recommend the venue and the team more. It is such a beautiful place to get married, from the winter garden ceremony room to the stunning castle grounds for drinks reception and we loved being able to go down to the beach for sunset photos! We would 100% recommend to anyone looking for a venue that has it all! Thank you for everything
We held our wedding at Highcliffe Castle on 13.7.24 and it was, quite literally, the day of our dreams. There's so much that went into making it the perfect day, and that, of course, does include a lot of suppliers who worked incredibly hard to bring our dream to life. A supplier that did SO much of the heavy lifting was our venue and the absolutely incredible team that work there. I was shown around by Gracie when we first visited the venue. I looked at it and fell in love pretty much instantly. My husband and I are both Harry Potter obsessed and I'm a keen Disney girl; this venue encompassed all the magic you'd find in Disney World in Florida with the stunning British charm that made it the perfect venue for our Potter-themed wedding. I told the team that I wanted our wedding to feel like us - traditional but with all the tiny details that made it undeniably ours. Let me tell you: they worked their absolute socks off from the moment we booked to the big day itself to do that for us. The Wintergarden is absolutely stunning and a truly magical place to hold your ceremony. Even without any decor, it's just beautiful. Add in decoration, lots of smiling/crying (with happy tears) guests and an owl flying the rings down the aisle and you've got the perfect ceremony. The Great Hall is where we chose to hold our wedding breakfast because it literally looks like you've walked into Hogwarts. We also chose to make use of the castle's candelabra package, which transformed the room and gave it such a romantic feel. The entire team - especially Gracie - went above and beyond. We felt like they truly cared about our big day. We weren't just another client. On the day itself, Gracie kept me calm, helped me get around in a (very) large dress, and seemed so happy for us even though she's seen so many people get married. Organisation was great from day one and I cannot fault them in any way at all. Highcliffe Castle, our wedding was everything we could ever have dreamed of, and a lot of that is down to the stunning venue itself but also all of the incredible people who worked so hard to bring fantasy into reality. We genuinely cannot thank you all enough. If you're looking for a venue that exudes magic, has a team that will make all of your vision come true from the tiniest of details, and somewhere that has SO many photo opportunities (from all of the rooms to the grounds to the entrance to the forest-y bit to the beach) please take a look at Highcliffe Castle. I guarantee you'll fall in love as soon as you see it.
Lovely beach and the view. You'll enjoy it in the good weather. However, the museum was quite a disappointment. Unfortunately, after two fires nearly nothing left to look at, but the staff tries their best to bring it back to life.
On-site services
Wheelchair-accessible car park
Wheelchair-accessible entrance
Good for kids
Paid parking lot
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Interesting place to visit. Restored after a fire in the 60's. Sympathetically restored building. I think it would benefit from a bit more restoration and some furniture. The location is excellent with a lovely beach and woodland walks. The staff are excellent and go above and beyond to make your visit enjoyable. Parking is payable separately and is around PS2 per hour depending how long you stay as it's controlled by the council
Never been before or even heard of it. Amazing ongoing restoration efforts, still a long way to go - but interesting. Cafe closed for restoration & the van was struggling with demand. Fairly easy Access to the beach for a wander on the sandy/stony surface & amazing views of my beloved Isle of Widget!!
It looks amazing when you enter and it is a big church at the front. The car park is behind and then you can, after paying for the car park , visit the castle or the beach. For the beach you can go down 100 steps for your right or a zig zag ramp for your left. It is very nice if you go with children, dogs or bicycles. Near the castle it is a coffee shop with a large terrace serving expensive coffee or tea. There are also cakes and sandwiches. It is nice to sit down for a while and enjoy the views of the castle where the main entrance looks directly to the needles in Isla of White. The story says that the previous house was near the sea but the sea itself over the years engulfed the cliff and after it was abandoned, it was destroyed. The new building is superb and you can visit paying 9PS per person. It may be worth it to visit but we didn't. The toilets near the car park need supervision.
We were lucky enough to get married at Highcliffe Castle last month. On the day itself and in the run up Gracie and the team made sure everything ran flawlessly and we really appreciated their flexibility with us, especially as we don't live locally. I could not recommend the venue and the team more. It is such a beautiful place to get married, from the winter garden ceremony room to the stunning castle grounds for drinks reception and we loved being able to go down to the beach for sunset photos! We would 100% recommend to anyone looking for a venue that has it all! Thank you for everything
We held our wedding at Highcliffe Castle on 13.7.24 and it was, quite literally, the day of our dreams. There's so much that went into making it the perfect day, and that, of course, does include a lot of suppliers who worked incredibly hard to bring our dream to life. A supplier that did SO much of the heavy lifting was our venue and the absolutely incredible team that work there. I was shown around by Gracie when we first visited the venue. I looked at it and fell in love pretty much instantly. My husband and I are both Harry Potter obsessed and I'm a keen Disney girl; this venue encompassed all the magic you'd find in Disney World in Florida with the stunning British charm that made it the perfect venue for our Potter-themed wedding. I told the team that I wanted our wedding to feel like us - traditional but with all the tiny details that made it undeniably ours. Let me tell you: they worked their absolute socks off from the moment we booked to the big day itself to do that for us. The Wintergarden is absolutely stunning and a truly magical place to hold your ceremony. Even without any decor, it's just beautiful. Add in decoration, lots of smiling/crying (with happy tears) guests and an owl flying the rings down the aisle and you've got the perfect ceremony. The Great Hall is where we chose to hold our wedding breakfast because it literally looks like you've walked into Hogwarts. We also chose to make use of the castle's candelabra package, which transformed the room and gave it such a romantic feel. The entire team - especially Gracie - went above and beyond. We felt like they truly cared about our big day. We weren't just another client. On the day itself, Gracie kept me calm, helped me get around in a (very) large dress, and seemed so happy for us even though she's seen so many people get married. Organisation was great from day one and I cannot fault them in any way at all. Highcliffe Castle, our wedding was everything we could ever have dreamed of, and a lot of that is down to the stunning venue itself but also all of the incredible people who worked so hard to bring fantasy into reality. We genuinely cannot thank you all enough. If you're looking for a venue that exudes magic, has a team that will make all of your vision come true from the tiniest of details, and somewhere that has SO many photo opportunities (from all of the rooms to the grounds to the entrance to the forest-y bit to the beach) please take a look at Highcliffe Castle. I guarantee you'll fall in love as soon as you see it.
Lovely beach and the view. You'll enjoy it in the good weather. However, the museum was quite a disappointment. Unfortunately, after two fires nearly nothing left to look at, but the staff tries their best to bring it back to life.
