Free Entry Areas
Second-Hand Bookshop
Our newly opened “book nook” is free to enter and located on the landing level between the ground floor and first floor of The Black Gate building on our site. There are no fixed prices for our books - just leave a donation in cash or card at our welcome desk upstairs!
We’re also accepting book donations - so if you want to give your books a second chance at life, bring them in to our castle!!
Tourist Information Hub
Located on the 1st Floor of the Black Gate building, this service, completely run by our wonderful volunteers, is designed to give you the chance to ask any questions you might have about the castle and the city in general.
Whether you’re looking for a great place to eat, a nice place for a walk, directions to the train station or another attraction, or how to get to the beautiful coast, our friendly team is here to help!
Free Guided Tours
Our wonderful volunteers have been training hard to be able to provide everyone walking through the Castle Garth with a FREE tour of the outside parts of our site, including the moat, the Black Gate defensive systems, the dreaded “Heron Pit”, the Anglo-Saxon ruins and Roman fort site, and the Keep surroundings.
These tours take around 20 minutes, and start on the hour, every hour, at the lamppost just past the wooden walkway that runs through the Garth. As our guides are volunteers and don’t have fixed timetables, these tours are only available when our volunteers are on-site. We will advertise their availability on social media day by day and announce them on-site throughout the day, so keep an eye out, or ask at reception!
Castle Café
The newest addition to our Visitor Welcome Area is our Castle Café! We’re working with Amore Coffee to bring you affordable and delicious coffee in the most historic setting in Newcastle.
From hot chocolate to Americanos, all our hot drinks are just £3.50, and can be enjoyed either in our café seating area, or as you wander around our site.
Why not grab one of our second-hand books to read while you sip your drink?
Gift Shop
Cute, affordable and varied, our gift shop has a wide range of must-have products for anyone wanting to commemorate their visit to Newcastle, as well as for locals who are simply looking for their next fix of medieval merchandise!
From postcards and magnets to goblets and swords, our gift shop has it all… with plenty of stock from local and regional businesses too!
Come on in and take a piece of Newcastle home with you!