Bolton Castle

What an amazing castle. Take time to read the information at various points throughout the castle and you will get more from your visit. Mary Queen of Scots stayed here. There is a cafe which serves homemade pastries and cakes. There are wild boars with little piglets behind the car parking area. There is also a birds of prey demonstration behind the garden and maze.

A really good day out. Lovely scenery around with plenty of walks. The castle was not too staged so it gave a feel of how a medieval castle might have felt and the falconry demonstration was very good with good interaction with the crowd.
We had coffee and cake in the cafe and the carrot cake was excellent. It felt that there was lots for children including the small maze, dressing up, writing with quill pens.

Bolton Castle is steeped in history and a fascinating place to visit. Great café and cakes to die for! Wrap up warm if visiting on a cold day!

Absolutely brilliant day out. Great to explore a castle with dungeon, kitchens, armoury.. courtyard, Mary Queen of Scots bed chamber! The feeling if walking where she walked and where she spent time was incredible. There's so much to see, monks cells, brewery, kitchen and more! Falconry display was on at 3pm and wild boars fed at 4pm! Staff were so friendly. I was so happy to see the dyers garden. I wanted to draw and sketch there but bringing a teenager means no stopping. We had a lovely sit down in the tea shop and enjoyed beautiful cakes! A fantastic place with so much to see. Beautiful gardens with a maze for little ones! Lovely to explore and we loved it!! Great for a day if weather isn't too good as lots inside.
Thank you!
Birds of prey were beautiful.

Had a fabulous day here loved it all. The tearoom had some delicious treats and the shop had lots to buy. The Tudors were very knowledgeable and entertaining and the Falconry display was super. We loved the maze! Unique castle in a stunning location.

Brilliant castle and Falcon display was outstanding and extremely informative. Room displays give you a feel of what it might have been like. Great place to explore. Car park expensive just for the castle visit but if you like walking and include a visit to castle it's a great place to park for the day.

Abit of alright from what we seen its based in a fantastic part of the country very nice drive/ride to the castle it can get abit windy but beautiful thing to visit

Ticket prices are quite expensive but very interesting castle and grounds with a maze, wildlife and bird shows. Good for a family day out.

Firstly the iffy party of my post - I went on Sunday 5 May, expecting a Tudor experience as advertised. Very disappointing.
HOWEVER...... I was not disappointed by the castle. What an amazing place. Lots of steps and stairs to tackle as you move up and down the floors. Lots of information boards, lots of nooks and crannies to investigate!
The cafe serves very nice fayre - the Bolton (pork) pie and the chocolate cake were scrumptious. And the pot of tea provided a generous serving.
And, finally, the bird of prey demonstration and the talk about wild boars were interesting and informative.

We visited on a Bank Holiday weekend so it was fairly busy. There were stunning views and the castle itself looked splendid. The staff in the gift shop were very helpful with a small problem we had.
The downside to the visit for me were the steps. As someone who has to use a walking stick, I found the steps hard work. The admission desk, tea room and gift shop all being on the first floor.
In the gardens, a bird of prey exhibition was being held but unfortunately we arrived as it ended but there was another later in the afternoon and an archery display.

A great place to visit. £2 parking £9 senior entry.
Well worth a morning or afternoon visit.
Falconry display within the fee.
Lovely cafe, friendly staff and some presenters dressed in period costumes explaining the features of the castle.
Great for adults and children.

What a superb day out ! Privately owned and it shows !! Excellent Tea Room 6 stars !
Taking in the actual castle this maybe hard going for the less agile steep steps just take your time !I climes right to the top of the castle fantastic views !
Gardens are an absolute credit the whole feel is just a good one .
Falconry display amazing the same handler feeds the Wild Boar all well worth the visit .
No dogs allowed and not suitable for disabled visitors ( my husband has MS so I speak from first hand experience with this )

This is a great place to go. Plenty of space for kids to run around, it has a maze, you can try archery and there's 2 bird flying demos per day, wind permitting. There's a small gift shop and a cafe, we took a picnic. Spent a whole day, good value for money and good fun

Absolutely amazing place to visit! Very informative if interested in History, great for all the family, go for the day, take a packed lunch, plenty to see & explore. Loved seeing the Wild Boar....
On site Cafe.
Plenty of parking.
Walking trails.
Wild Boar.

Great place for castles fans. We went with kids and they also enjoyed

Enjoyed a brilliant day out at Bolton Castle. Interesting place to explore, plenty to see in the castle itself. There was a falconry display taking place in the gardens which was amazing. We thoroughly enjoyed hearing about the birds - the young lady who gave the talk was really friendly, knowledgeable and so much fun. Very entertaining.

Excellent example of a medieval castle. This castle is part ruin and part intact with many areas to explore. Wonderful views from the battlements. Falconry displays available at certain times of the day. Car parking adjacent either charge of £3 for the day. Gift shop and cafe with toilets on site. Dogs are not allowed in the castle or gardens.

We prebooked tickets to visit here over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend expecting it to be really busy, but it was nowhere near as busy as expected. We arrived shortly after lunch and stayed around 4 hours.

The castle itself was really interesting. A few of the rooms were made up in period style with accompanying information in each of them (which I'd have liked to have read more of but with a 2 year old in tow, this is rarely possible). There are glorious views of the countryside from the roof. Inside one of the larger rooms there's peroid style games for people to try, dress up for the kids and a chance to try quill writing. These had probably seen better days but the kids still enjoyed them. There's probably as much to explore outside in the courtyard as inside.

It's worth noting that a lot of the staircases are spiral and can be pretty tricky for really little ones or anyone unsteady on their feet.

My daughter enjoyed doing the Easter trail that was provided. There were activities on too (all run by one very multi talented lady) which were particularly enjoyable. We went for the archery demo, which everyone actually got to have a go at shooting an arrow, and the bird of prey show which was really interesting. That member of staff deserves a special mention for how friendly and knowledgeable she was.

In the gardens there's a maze that's perfect to send the kids into for ten minutes peace! It's handy that the hedges are low enough that adults can see over to help guide them out. There's a wide selection of birds of prey to see as well. There was also a bee area and herb/medicinal garden, though due to the time of year these were not very active yet. Over by the car park are the wild boars. The sows looked as though they'd not long had babies and these were adorable to see up so close. There's an opportunity to see these fed at around 4pm, however we had to leave before then, so didn't get chance to see it, but I'd have liked to.

Overall, we were pleasantly surprised at how much we enjoyed it here and how much there was to do. It's definitely worth the visit.

A real unexpected treat, decided to go to Bolton on a very wet & windy day as an emergency something to do, what a surprise, a stunning location, a fantastic castle with a little something extra, from the wild boars that great you when you park your car to the fantastic views from the roof and the beautiful birds of prey in the gardens (unfortunately we missed the flying display), there is lovely tea room with lots of homemade cake and pies, all in all a very good day

Beautiful place but parking is pricey £5 for the day with no shorter options or disabled parking