What to expect on your education visit
We can't wait to welcome you to our sites! This page includes all the information and tools you'll need to prepare for a trip this term.
We’re keeping a range of measures in place to keep you safe, including extra cleaning, using screens, and making hand sanitiser available for everyone to use, and you may still see many of our staff and volunteers continue to wear a face covering in our busy areas and indoor spaces.
You can find more details on open sites, indoor spaces, and other facilities available for education groups using the list of our open sites and links to our property pages below.
Please note that all bookings must be made at least 14 days in advance. Take a look at our Terms and Conditions and, for more information on how to make a booking, please visit our bookings page.
What's in place
Important information to consider before you book:
- To make the planning process as easy as possible, make sure you check our Plan Your School Trip section at the bottom of our site pages for updated information on the facilities at the site, as well as our free resources
- You’ll need to book your visit at least 14 days in advance. Please check our terms and conditions for full details
- Some of our staff and volunteers may continue to wear face coverings.
- Please check availability in advance if you require access to equipment, such as audio guides and handling items, or facilities, such as lifts, wheelchairs and mobility scooters
- To help with planning, you can view our Discovery Visit Risk Assessments and Hazard Information sheets on our site pages
Preparing for your visit
You’ll receive your booking confirmation by email from our education bookings team with details of your visit permit. Just bring this with you, either on your mobile device or as a print out to show to a member of staff on entry.
If you haven’t received an email confirmation, please get in touch using our online form and check our bookings page for further details.
Without a valid booking confirmation, we won’t be able to let you in. Please make sure you have read our education visit Terms and Conditions ahead of your visit.
For full details of sites open for education visits, check our list below.
Visit guidelines at a glance
We want everyone to be able to enjoy our sites safely, and so we ask that you respect the following before and during your visit:
- Please don’t visit if you or any individuals in your group have symptoms of COVID-19.
- Please supervise your group at all times and make sure you have the correct learner to leader ratios in place at all times when exploring our sites. For full details see our visit terms & conditions. In addition to the expected hazards found at a historic property, there will also be hand sanitiser stations throughout the site that pose a new hazard to younger children if they are misused.
- Our staff and volunteers may continue to wear face coverings, and we will make hand sanitiser available for everyone to use.
Free planning visits and resources
Once your booking is confirmed, take advantage of a free planning visit to help you prepare for your trip and familiarise yourself with the site. Whether you have an existing visit booked with us or are making a new booking, you’ll need to book your free planning visit in advance. To book, simply go to the webpage of the site you want to visit and in the book tickets section select from the ‘Associated Organisation’ tab ticket options.
Our wide range of free downloadable resources has been developed by our team of qualified teachers, educational experts and historians, to help support your learning, and you can use these before, during and after your trip.
Sites for education visits
For more information on visiting a site, including available facilities and Discovery Visits, please click on the name of the site below. Our free sites and sites with a limited education offer may not be included in the lists below - please email bookeducation@english-heritage.org.uk if the site you're looking to visit is missing. Please book your visit at least 14 days in advance, and note that all visit requests will be managed on a first come first served basis.
North West, North East & Hadrian's Wall
North East
- Aydon Castle, Northumberland
- Barnard Castle, Durham
- Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens, Northumberland
- Berwick-upon-Tweed Barracks and Main Guard, Northumberland
- Brinkburn Priory, Northumberland
- Dunstanburgh Castle, Northumberland
- Etal Castle, Northumberland
- Lindisfarne Priory, Northumberland
- Prudhoe Castle, Northumberland
- Tynemouth Priory, Tyne and Wear
- Warkworth Castle, Northumberland
North West
- Beeston Castle and Woodland Park, Cheshire
- Brougham Castle, Cumbria
- Carlisle Castle, Cumbria
- Furness Abbey, Cumbria
- Lanercost Priory, Cumbria
Hadrian's Wall
Yorkshire & Humber
- Aldborough Roman Site, North Yorkshire
- Brodsworth Hall and Gardens, Yorkshire
- Conisbrough Castle, South Yorkshire
- Kirkham Priory, North Yorkshire
- Middleham Castle, North Yorkshire
- Mount Grace Priory, North Yorkshire
- Pickering Castle, North Yorkshire
- Richmond Castle, North Yorkshire
- Rievaulx Abbey, North Yorkshire
- Roche Abbey, South Yorkshire
- Scarborough Castle, North Yorkshire
- St Peter's Church, North Lincolnshire
- Whitby Abbey, North Yorkshire
Midlands & East
Midlands
- Ashby de la Zouch Castle, Leicestershire
- Bolsover Castle, Derbyshire
- Boscobel House and the Royal Oak, Shropshire
- Gainsborough Old Hall, Lincolnshire
- Goodrich Castle, Herefordshire
- Hailes Abbey, Gloucestershire
- Kenilworth Castle and Elizabethan Garden, Warwickshire
- Kirby Hall, Northamptonshire
- Kirby Muxloe Castle, Leicestershire
- Lyddington Bede House, Leicestershire
- Peveril Castle, Derbyshire
- Wenlock Priory, Shropshire
- Witley Court, Worcestershire
- Wroxeter Roman City, Shropshire
East
London & South East
London
- Apsley House, London
- Eltham Palace, London
- Jewel Tower, London
- Kenwood House, London
- Marble Hill House, London
- Wellington Arch, London
South East
- 1066 Battle of Hastings Abbey and Battlefield, East Sussex
- Deal Castle, Kent
- Dover Castle, Kent
- Home of Charles Darwin - Down House, Kent
- Lullingstone Roman Villa, Kent
- Medieval Merchant's House, Hampshire
- Pevensey Castle, East Sussex
- Portchester Castle, Hampshire
- Richborough Roman Fort and Amphitheatre, Kent
- St Augustine's Abbey, Kent
- Walmer Castle and Gardens, Kent
Isle of Wight
South West
- Berry Pomeroy Castle, Devon
- Cleeve Abbey, Somerset
- Dartmouth Castle, Devon
- Farleigh Hungerford Castle, Somerset
- Muchelney Abbey, Somerset
- Okehampton Castle, Devon
- Old Sarum, Wiltshire
- Old Wardour Castle, Wiltshire
- Pendennis Castle, Cornwall
- Portland Castle, Dorset
- Restormel Castle, Cornwall
- Sherborne Old Castle, Dorset
- St Mawes Castle, Cornwall
- Stonehenge, Wiltshire
- Tintagel Castle, Cornwall
- Totnes Castle, Devon
We're good to go
We’re supporting Visit Britain’s We’re Good to Go scheme, an industry standard consumer mark that shows our sites adhere to Government and public health guidance.
In order to qualify, each one of our sites is required to complete a checklist confirming it has the necessary measures in place, including staff training, social distancing measures, and high cleanliness standards.
We’re also taking part in UK’s tourism’s Know Before You Go campaign, which encourages people to find out what is open and when and any restrictions in place, before they visit a heritage site.