Farleigh Hungerford Castle

Farleigh Hungerford Castle

Farleigh Hungerford Castle
4.5
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Monday
Closed
Tuesday
Closed
Wednesday
Closed
Thursday
Closed
Friday
Closed
Saturday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
About
In a beautiful valley of the river Frome, on the border between Wiltshire and Somerset and only nine miles from Bath, stands the remains of Farleigh Hungerford Castle. Started in the 14th century, it still has much for visitors to enjoy and provides a great day out for families with children, couples and even walkers enjoying the beautiful surrounding countryside.
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  • Annie
    Tidworth, United Kingdom2,009 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Interesting history
    We visited as English Heritage members and we enjoyed our morning visit. The man in the shop was friendly and we chose the audio guide, which is free. The audio guide gives you information about the castle. Interesting place and we enjoyed our visit.
    Visited March 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 22 March 2024
  • Stephen B
    Trowbridge, United Kingdom19 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great place to visit
    Visited here today with granddaughter who was on teacher training day. Our young lady thought it was awesome, and we were equally impressed. Lots of very interesting things to discover. Historical side really interesting well worth a visit, recommended. Good value.
    Visited June 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 21 June 2024
  • apophisguard
    Stoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom2,312 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    A fantastic little ruin of a castle - great staff!
    I need to address a few issues made by other reviewers, but first my review. It's a lovely ruin of a castle, most in the UK are thanks to the ravages of time and war, so to expect the castle to be complete is quite naive. If you arrive by car, you will pass through he castle grounds to the car park and park on the far side. Most of the site is essentially the remains of foundations and walls, there are some towers which regrettably are in ruin. However, the chapel and the crypt are complete and have some lovely medieval wall art paintings still quite visible. There is also a superb display in one of the out buildings giving a lot of detail into the castles history. The day of our visit was a children's activity day, this involved trying on armour, a display of medieval weaponry and clothing and a have-a-go archery range. Due to being the first to visit that day, we avoided the screaming darlings and had a go of the armour and archery before any kids arrived. Staff - Excellent! Very friendly and welcoming and we had a really good talk with two of the volunteers by the displays. I've always found English Heritage volunteers to be considerable more friendly than their NT counterparts. Worth a visit? Yes, if passing. It doesn't warrant a special long distance trip, but as we were passing on our way home - we popped in for a pit stop. Now to address a few points raised by other reviewers. 1) There's nothing to see? Yes, it's a ruin - I guess visitors who say this were expecting Warwick castle style entertainment. Not here, what you get is a look into our country's past, and some EDUCATION - not an American style theme park. 2) It's not wheelchair accessible! It's a ruined castle, I don't think wheelchair accessibility was at the forefront of the castle designers thoughts. As sympathetic as I am to your plight, putting in ramps etc would destroy the look and ambiance of the site fr the sake of a very tiny minority of visitors. Do some research before visiting is the key! If it doesn't look accessible, don't go.
    Visited August 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 26 October 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

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4.5
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DJ59
Bath, UK88 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2022 • Couples
Have lived close by for 18 months and every time we drive by have said we should visit….and finally we did.
Much more impressive when you drive in than I was expecting. Really friendly staff in the office who persuaded us to take an English Heritage membership as there is a lot to explore in the area.
We opted for the audio tour which is one of the best we have used. Good Bluetooth connection at each point and very good explanations. The site is well preserved and the highlights are the chapel, the crypt and the priests house where you should take time to look at the exhibition.
The views are spectacular and the castle ruins are well preserved
So pleased we’ve now been and will use our membership to visit again. Leave yourself about 90 minutes for the visit.
Would recommend popping down the road to Stowford Manor Farm for a cream tea as no cafe onsite
Written 9 August 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

PebbleL
Cardiff, UK861 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2021
On arrival I thought we were just going to have a quick walk around some ruins, but it turned out that the castle has an interesting history and there is quite a bit to see. I found the crypt quite spooky and we learned about the darker aspects of the castle's history such as the murders that took place. We were on a tight schedule so only had time to read the displays, if we had more time we would have used the audio guides that are included in the entrance fee.
Written 15 November 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

John H
35 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2022
The free with entry audio guide really made this visit. Do NOT get stung for the overpriced and unnecessary guidebook which they try to offer you first of all - as ever with English Heritage the entry price for what is mainly a ruin is excessive. Annual membership is probably the better option if you have time and energy to visit multiple EH locations over 12 months.

However I had no idea that this was once such an extensive castle, with a really interesting and exciting history of murder, locked up wives and profligate sons. The chapel with its rare medieval frescos, tombs of the Hungerfords and a creepy crypt is the highlight. I would recommend the nearby really historic George at Norton St Philip as great stop for refreshments.
Written 5 June 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Garybaldbee
London, UK34 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2021
Farleigh Hungerford is not one of English Heritage's blockbuster sites but there is just enough of the medieval castle still standing to enable you to visualise it in its prime and to make it worthwhile visiting for an hour or so if you are in the area. There is a very modest display of artefacts but the highlight is probably the small Chapel which contains a magnificent, if faded, medieval mural of St George - its a surprise to learn that the interiors of churches and chapels from this era, which now usually seem so austere, must once have been very colourful. The chapel also served as a useful shelter from the pouring rain! There is a very small gift shop with the usual English Heritage trinkets and guide books and the audio guides and free audio app to download on your smartphone provide some interesting historical context. Curiously you actually have to drive right through the castle gates to reach the car park (which seemed to be free).
Written 2 June 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Rima B
Northolt, UK190 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2022 • Couples
Great experience. Decent price - although we're EH members so it didn't cost us. With the audio tour included, it really bring it to life. Throughly enjoyed our time here. Friendly and welcoming staff too! :)

Just some FYI's
Toilets available
Free parking available
No cafe as such but some snacks/small gift shop

Written 6 July 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Diane S
Frome, UK35 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2020 • Couples
We live nearby but this was our first visit, excellent.
Easy to pre-book, very friendly and helpful staff using masks inside and hand sanitiser before handing things to me.
Very good and easy to use audio guide.
Clear signage and one way system.
Interesting history, fab family tree in the Priest’s house, chapel and crypt amazing.
We will go again.
Written 27 September 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Franklin F
14 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2021
The chapel and crypt were amazing - as a historian I have never seen such well preserved tombs with the original colours. The coffins in the crypt were fantastic and very moving, especially the tiny child's ones. The staff were very helpful. A very memorable experience.
Written 20 August 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Blouncy
Axminster, UK100 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2021
At first, it looked just like ruins and we were disappointed but the extremely friendly gentleman on the front desk gave us a lot of information and we even got a free audio tour.

The audio tour made it so worthwhile. The price is not expensive to start with but the free audio tour offered so much information and gave such a depth of knowledge that you can really imagine yourself at the castle during its heyday.

Alongside the ruins are the chapel, crypt and Priest's House that we originally missed.

This turned out to be a fantastic attraction and well worth a visit for all group types and sizes.
Written 1 September 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Graham C
London, UK530 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2021
We chanced across this ruined castle when on our way to another venue and, afterwards, went back for a visit. It was so worthwhile although there is little left of the origional it is superb. Especially worth visiting is the chapel with origional paintwork still intact and really interesting.
Written 3 July 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Peter Z
London, UK1,087 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2023 • Couples
We visited Farleigh Hungerford Castle while on a break to Somerset.

Run by English Heritage, there is a free car park that you access by driving through the castle gates. The people in reception were very helpful and friendly. There is an audio guide, which you do not have to do in order, but the route it takes you on does get you round the castle.

The story of Agnes Cotell/Hungerford is one I was familiar with, but hearing the story where it happened brought this murder into perspective.

The medieval pictures on the castle chapel wall were worth the visit alone.

The castle has toilets and a picnic area, but no café unfortunately.
Written 27 October 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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FARLEIGH HUNGERFORD CASTLE (2025) All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

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