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Afterhours Events - Talks

Join us in the Harbottle Suite of the Black Gate where we will dive deep into our Rogues & Vagabonds season with Dr Jo Bath as she explores all things Quack Doctors!

In 1761, the Newcastle Courant advertised for a "Merry Andrew" able to serve a travelling doctor in entertaining the crowds (preferably with a violin). A hundred years later, the press was publicising an arsenic-based "fatal case of quack doctoring" in Elswick. Who were these people - the "self-taught professors" and "botanical doctors" - and what were they really getting up to? 

Jo "the history-monger" Bath is a Doctor of Crime (well, seventeenth century crime), but is equally at home in all periods of history, as long as she gets to mess around with the gory, sexy, spooky, wild, weird or wonderful bits of it. She teaches history to anyone of any age who stays still long enough to listen, and has recently braved doing so via this "internet" thing as well.

• Doors open at 17.45

• Talk starts at 18.00

• This event is wheelchair accessible

Rogues & Vagabonds

While many castles celebrate the splendour of kings and queens, Newcastle Castle tells a very different story…

This spring, Castle Garth becomes the home of rogues, rule-breakers and colourful characters from our past — the thieves, tricksters and vagabonds who once lived and worked in the shadow of the castle walls.

Rogues & Vagabonds dives into the darker, more eccentric side of Newcastle’s history, revealing gripping tales of crime, punishment and survival. The Great Hall is transformed into a courtroom, the medieval Gaol explores justice and incarceration, and visitors are invited to step into the story themselves.

Answer the call to become a Newcastle Castle Rogue by creating your own outlaw alias and taking on a series of roguish challenges throughout the castle. Along the way, uncover extraordinary stories, meet notorious characters, and experience the castle as it has never been seen before — bold, mischievous and full of intrigue.

Rogues & Vagabonds runs from 14th February to 1st June, offering an unmissable adventure packed with history, mystery and hands-on fun.
Dare to break the rules. Dare to become a Rogue.

Old Newcastle Walking Tours - Coming Soon!

Our walking tours of the historic Newcastle city centre will run from the 30th of March to the 5th of October 2026 every Monday and Friday. These are not included in your annual pass. Find out more about our walking tours here. Please book via the link below!

Daytime Activities - Seasonal Programming

Our seasonal programming runs the whole year round, and is prepared by our dedicated team to ensure you get the most out of your annual pass and have a wonderful experience on your visit to Newcastle Castle. Throughout each season, pop-up exhibitions, crafts activities and workshops, castle trails and other activities will take place on a daily or weekly basis on our site - all included within your annual pass price.

Our 2026 seasonal programme is as follows:

• Rogues and Vagabonds (Spring season): 14th February - 1st June

• Carnival at the Castle (Summer season): 2nd June - 30th September

• Halloween

• Christmas

Exhibits and Collaborations

Temporary exhibits and collaborations for you to enjoy at the castle during your visit! Free with your annual pass.

Baltic Collaboration - A Joyful Parasite

This newest Baltic flag collaboration is by London-based Spanish artist Saelia Aparicio.

Her work dwells on ideas of the organic, establishing analogies between corporeal and social mechanisms.

Saelia invites us to explore the porous boundaries between inside and outside, host and intruder, human and more-than-human, taking inspiration from the figure of a parasite, both biological and metaphorical. Instead of casting parasites as villains, Saelia reimagines them as symbols of resilience, adaptation, and radical coexistence.