An imposing Norman Castle built after the Battle of Hastings by supporters of William the Conqueror which has been standing in the heart of Lewes for 950 years. Climb to the top of The Keep for stunning panoramic views across Sussex. Visit the adjoining Museum of Sussex Archaeology to view artefacts from prehistoric to medieval Sussex, plus temporary exhibitions. Family activities during school holidays and open-air theatre take place in the The Gun Garden.
A fantastic museum and castle across the road. You buy tickets to the castle from the museum and they go across the road and let you in when you are ready ( so quaint!) the museum is over two floors and has some great exhibits. There is also a small shop with trinkets and other souvenirs. The castle ruins is wonderful. You can climb two of the towers and the views are spectacular. The gardens is the ruins are well maintained and the whole experience is delightful.
What a friendly welcome! Informative and hospitable. Leading to the well presented experience through these incredible castle remains. An all round informative journey through history of building and the people who lived in it. Brilliant! A must-do! Finally the museum is the perfect finish. One gets a fine sense of life, equipment and weapons of Lewes. Thank you for your care and wonderful exhibit.
The castle includes the museum and ruins. The ruins can be seen in about 15 minutes (though longer if seeing the various exhibits and information signs), and have genuinely have lovely views from the top of the town. The castle's museum is ok - about 5 rooms across two floors with some decent signs plus a model of 1880s Lewes, which we say in about 15-20 minutes. There is also a 12 minute video presentation within the model room that plays every 30 minutes and provides interesting information. The toilets just off of the ticket area are adequate - not great, but usable. There is also a small gift shop.
Visited on a wet weekday but still enjoyed it, even standing at the top of the tower in the rain! Good views (would have been even better without the low cloud cover), beautiful gardens, activities for the little ones and lots of info about the castles history for older kids and adults.
We visited as part of a weekend road trip around the South East of England and Lewes was our stop on the way home. Lewes is a beautiful old town but visiting isn't the easiest thing. We used the Market Lane car park but that has limited spaces. The other parking spots we saw are a bit further away but it's a pretty town with a lot to see anyway. The castle itself is signposted from the High Street and you go into the museum just to the right of the gatehouse. From there you get your castle tickets and get access into the garden that has the walkway up to the shell keep that forms the majority of the castle remains now. It was a beautiful day and we spent some time in the garden - with stocks in, such a great way to deal with petty crime! The climb to the keep was quite steep but the path is very well laid out and it was easy to pause for views periodically. The summit of the motte holds the shell keep with two existing towers and a large fireplace in the outer wall. You can go inside one of the towers and on to the roof to look at the lovely views over the South Downs and read about the history of the castle on various information boards. Part way up, or down, the climb is a path leading to the gatehouse which you enter above ground level and there are rooms with children's activities and costumes before you reach the roof where you can see the machiolations and views over the town. The museum is also excellent - there's a history of the town and then exhibits that the Sussex Archeological Society have obtained throughout the county.
Lovely bit of history. I especially liked the light up map telling you the history of the town in the museum. It was very windy the day we went but after climbing to the top of the castle the views were spectacular. Very windy the day we went but still a great couple of hours.
On-site services
Wheelchair-accessible car park
Good for kids
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A fantastic museum and castle across the road. You buy tickets to the castle from the museum and they go across the road and let you in when you are ready ( so quaint!) the museum is over two floors and has some great exhibits. There is also a small shop with trinkets and other souvenirs. The castle ruins is wonderful. You can climb two of the towers and the views are spectacular. The gardens is the ruins are well maintained and the whole experience is delightful.
What a friendly welcome! Informative and hospitable. Leading to the well presented experience through these incredible castle remains. An all round informative journey through history of building and the people who lived in it. Brilliant! A must-do! Finally the museum is the perfect finish. One gets a fine sense of life, equipment and weapons of Lewes. Thank you for your care and wonderful exhibit.
The castle includes the museum and ruins. The ruins can be seen in about 15 minutes (though longer if seeing the various exhibits and information signs), and have genuinely have lovely views from the top of the town. The castle's museum is ok - about 5 rooms across two floors with some decent signs plus a model of 1880s Lewes, which we say in about 15-20 minutes. There is also a 12 minute video presentation within the model room that plays every 30 minutes and provides interesting information. The toilets just off of the ticket area are adequate - not great, but usable. There is also a small gift shop.
Visited on a wet weekday but still enjoyed it, even standing at the top of the tower in the rain! Good views (would have been even better without the low cloud cover), beautiful gardens, activities for the little ones and lots of info about the castles history for older kids and adults.
We visited as part of a weekend road trip around the South East of England and Lewes was our stop on the way home. Lewes is a beautiful old town but visiting isn't the easiest thing. We used the Market Lane car park but that has limited spaces. The other parking spots we saw are a bit further away but it's a pretty town with a lot to see anyway. The castle itself is signposted from the High Street and you go into the museum just to the right of the gatehouse. From there you get your castle tickets and get access into the garden that has the walkway up to the shell keep that forms the majority of the castle remains now. It was a beautiful day and we spent some time in the garden - with stocks in, such a great way to deal with petty crime! The climb to the keep was quite steep but the path is very well laid out and it was easy to pause for views periodically. The summit of the motte holds the shell keep with two existing towers and a large fireplace in the outer wall. You can go inside one of the towers and on to the roof to look at the lovely views over the South Downs and read about the history of the castle on various information boards. Part way up, or down, the climb is a path leading to the gatehouse which you enter above ground level and there are rooms with children's activities and costumes before you reach the roof where you can see the machiolations and views over the town. The museum is also excellent - there's a history of the town and then exhibits that the Sussex Archeological Society have obtained throughout the county.
Lovely bit of history. I especially liked the light up map telling you the history of the town in the museum. It was very windy the day we went but after climbing to the top of the castle the views were spectacular. Very windy the day we went but still a great couple of hours.
