Nottingham Castle reopening date revealed by council

The council has promised a "simpler" ticket structure

Nottingham Castle will reopen to visitors on 26 June, the city council has announced.

The attraction's gates have been largely shut to the public since November 2022 when the trust running it went into liquidation.

It opened again for special Coronation and Eurovision events while the council, which owns the historical site, worked on a longer term solution.

The authority said it was delighted to now have a date for a full reopening.

The Hood's Hideout play area was popular with families

The Nottingham Castle Trust said, when it was wound up, visitor numbers were "significantly below" the 300,000 per year it had targeted when it reopened in June 2021 following a £30m revamp.

Many visitors had complained admission was too expensive and poor value.

The city council, which was owed £2.7m by the trust when it folded, has now revealed details of a new ticketing structure where an adult ticket costs £12 and allows admission for a year.

Children aged 15 and under will be admitted for free when accompanied by paying adults.

The council said the new admission arrangement will include access to the castle grounds, Brewhouse Yard Cottages, Robin Hood Adventures and Rebellion Galleries and the castle museum, unlimited for the 12-month period.

'Heart of city life'

The city council's portfolio holder for leisure, culture and planning Pavlos Kotsonis said: "I am delighted to be able to announce that Nottingham Castle will open again on Monday 26 June.

"Nottingham without its castle is like Robin Hood without his merry men, so it's going to be fantastic to have it back at the heart of our city's life."

He said: "We've already seen with the Coronation events and the sold-out Eurovision event that people are eager to return to the site - and we're very keen to welcome them back.

"We hope this announcement will come as welcome news, as we have endeavoured to listen to what visitors didn't like about the trust's admission arrangements, and I believe the simpler pricing and exceptional value we are announcing will help to encourage visitors, near and far, to come back again and again."

The Nottingham Castle Trust folded owing £2.7m to the city council

The attraction, which will be run as part of the council's museums service, will be open from 10:00 to 17:00 from February to October and from 11:00 to 16:00 from November to January.

The castle's big money transformation drew funds from a range of organisations including Arts Council England and the National Heritage Lottery Fund.

Peter Knott, Midlands area director for Arts Council England, said: "We're pleased to hear that Nottingham Castle will soon be reopening its doors to visitors - it's a great asset to the city and a place for people to celebrate the rich history and creativity of Nottingham."

Robyn Llewellyn, National Lottery Heritage Fund director, said: "Having supported the restoration and conservation of this very important historic site, we are looking forward to seeing Nottingham City Council reopen the gates to the castle in June.

"We are heartened that visitors can enjoy this important beacon of the region's rich cultural heritage once more."

Tom Unterrainer, a campaigner for the Open the Gates! group, welcomed the news but said some were still disappointed the grounds remain sealed-off by the price of a ticket.

He told BBC Radio Nottingham: "I'd encourage the people of Nottingham that if they think the ticket price is still too high for you, let the council know.

"If you still feel you're excluded and it's not reasonable, tell them as soon as possible as we need to get this right, we need to make sure our castle stays open."