A warm welcome from a distance

All our staff have received relevant health and safety training. They have all been issued with face-visors and gloves. Some staff will be behind perspex sneeze screens, for example at the ticket check point and in our shop. Our staff have put in a lot of time, effort and training to make your visit safe and enjoyable. Despite the sanitised nature of health and safety, we can assure you that you will receive the very warm and friendly welcome from our staff, at a distance, that we are known for.

Upon arrival members of staff will re-iterate our safety procedures and what we ask of you.

Our friendly staff will be on hand (at a safe distance) to answer your questions, keep you safe and bring the castle to life.

We are COVID-19 Secure

We have followed the Government guidelines to become COVID-19 Secure. This means we follow 5 steps to safer working together. We display a certificate of these measures on site or you can view the certificate online.

‘We’re Good to Go’

We have taken all relevant precautions and measures to allow us to use the ‘We’re Good to Go’ kitemark. This shows you that we have gone through a complaince process to be accredited with the mark. The kitemark shows that we adhere to Government and Public Health Guidance and we have undertaken to amend working practices where necessary to remain up-to-date with this guidance. A spot-check may be performed by the We’re Good to Go team, to ensure this.

Cleaning

Staff clean all high-touch surface areas at regular intervals thoughout the day, at the beginning of the day before we open and at the end of the day after we have closed.

Limited numbers on site at any one time

We limit the number of people on site at any one time to ensure that you can enjoy your experience within the rustic spaces of this Norman castle. We do this by managing bookings online to a strict capcity limit. By doing this we minimise any queuing time and keep people spread out throughout the buildings so that they can manage their physical distance from others easily, whilst absorbing the wonders of this iconic castle.

Easily keep your distance from others

The limiting of visitor numbers throughout the day and the introduction of a one-way route means you can easily keep your distance from others.

You receive a pre-visit welcome pack upon booking your tickets

Once booked, you’ll receive your digital tickets and a pre-visit health and safety welcome package by email. Please read this. Amongst other things it tells you how to get here, what we are doing to keep you safe and what we ask of you.

Wearing of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

All staff have been issued with relevant PPE, trained in its use and when it is appropriate to use it. If you wish to wear your own mask or gloves then please feel free. If you don’t have a mask but would like one, we have some very ‘dashing’ ones available to purchase.

Hand-sanitisaton points

We have installed numerous hand-sanitisation points around the site. They are touchless. Please use them. (The sanitiser is alcohol-based. If you are allergic to this please bring your own sanitiser.)

Follow the one-way system

We have created a one-way system for you to explore, discover and enjoy safely. Please follow staff and signed instructions. You can access all of the areas that were accessible prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Garderobes (Toilets)

The public garderobes (or toilet facilities, as I believe they are now called), are located in The Black Gate and cleaned at regular intervals. Please make sure you wash your hands for 20 seconds after using them.

Cashless purchasing

All transactions with us will be via card payments and preferably contactless. For now we are not accepting cash.

What we ask of you

If you have any of the main Coronavirus symptoms as defined by the NHS:

• a high temperature – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)

• a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)

• a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this means you've noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal

Please postpone your visit to Newcastle Castle. If you have already purchased tickets we will gladly move the booking to a new date.

Other than that we simply ask that you:

• Keep at least one metre but preferably two metres away from other guests

• Wash your hands for 20 seconds after using facilities

• Use the hand sanitiser dispensers at every opportunity

• Provide feedback on your experience as it is very important to make sure we continue to get it right