Great Britain Castles Road Trip 🏰🇬🇧🚗
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Explore some of the most iconic, historic, and breathtaking castles across England, Wales, and Scotland on this ultimate Great British road trip.
Great Britain Castles Road Trip Itinerary Summary
📍 Dover Castle 🏰
📍 Leeds Castle 🌳
📍 Hever Castle 🌹
📍 Tower of London 👑
📍 Windsor Castle 🏯
📍 Highclere Castle 🎥
📍 Thornbury Castle 🏡
📍 Caerphilly Castle (Wales) 🛡️
📍 Warwick Castle ⚔️
📍 Powis Castle 🌺
📍 Caernarfon Castle 🏞️
📍 Conwy Castle 🌉
📍 Lancaster Castle ⚖️
📍 Alnwick Castle 🧙 (Harry Potter fans!)
📍 Bamburgh Castle 🌊
📍 Edinburgh Castle 🏴
📍 Stirling Castle 🦁
📍 Dunnottar Castle 🌄
📍 Craigievar Castle 🏚️
📍 Dunrobin Castle 🎩
Total Distance: 🚗 Approx. 1,300 miles
📸 Photos & Info are located further down. Keep scrolling to see all these places. ⬇️
This road trip offers a journey through royal history, fairytale towers, dramatic ruins, and coastal fortresses — perfect for history lovers and explorers. 🗺️📸🛡️
Get the FREE Great Britain Castles Road Trip Map!
🚗 Need a car for this road trip?
If you don’t have your own car, I’d really recommend renting one — it gives you the flexibility to stop at each waterfall and explore at your own pace.
I usually use DiscoverCars to compare prices and find the best deals across different rental companies.
👉 It’s really easy to use:
- Compare multiple providers in one place
- Cheaper than booking direct
- Free cancellation on most options
- Their 3rd party insurance is a lot cheaper
- They have a great customer service for claims (though I hope you won’t have to use it!
Additional Information and Highlights
📍 Dover Castle
📍 Leeds Castle
📍 Hever Castle
📍Tower of London
📍Windsor Castle
One of the most famous royal residences in the UK. It’s located in the county of Berkshire, about 25 miles from central London
🎟️ How to book: Tickets are available here (it’s better to book in advance, especially during peak-season)
💡 Good to Know: Windsor Castle is also included in the Go City Pass London but only the afternoon entrance.
📍 Highclere Castle
📍 Caerphilly Castle
📍 Warwick Castle
📍 Powis Castle
📍 Caernarfon Castle
📍 Conwy Castle
📍 Lancaster Castle
📍 Alnwick Castle
Home of the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland, Alnwick Castle is one of the most iconic castles in Britain and has a lot to offer to visitors.
🅿️ The castle has a dedicated car park (NE66 1YU). There is a £3.50 charge for the entire day.
🧙Harry Potter: Alnwick Castle was used as a filming location in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. The most iconic scene took place in the outer bailey, when Harry and his friends learned to fly broomsticks.
🎟️ Tickets can be booked here. It also gives you access to a lot of activities inside.
⌛ Opening dates: The castle is open from the end of March to October.
💡 My Top Tip: While Alnwick Castle is not the cheapest, it is definitely the one that gives you access to the most activities. I highly recommend making the best of what you get. There are walking tours (including a filming location one), broomstick flying lessons, medieval soap making and plenty more.
❤️ I absolutely loved the variety of activities that was on offer, especially considering they were pretty much all included. You can easily spend the entire day in the castle if you want to. If you are a Harry Potter fan, make sure to take the broomstick flying lesson as you can recreate the scenes and take loads of photos!
🐶 Dogs are not allowed in the castle or the grounds.
📍 Bamburgh Castle
Built 1,400 years ago, Bamburgh Castle is one of the most iconic and largest inhabited castles in Britain. It was the first castle in the world to fall to gunpowder (during the War of Roses) and now belongs to the Armstrong family.
🅿️ There is a dedicated car park by the entrance of the castle (£6/day charge). Alternatively, you can park in Bamburgh and walk up to the castle.
🎟️ Tickets can be booked on the official website or on-site.
⌛Opening dates: The castle is open all year round.
💡 My Top Tip: Check the event schedule as Bamburgh Castle often has special events on (especially for Christmas).
❤️ The views from Bamburgh Castle are unbeatable! You can fully see how big Bamburgh beach is and can see as far as the Farne Islands. I also recommend going for a walk on the beach after visiting the castle as it will give you a completely different perspective.
🐶 Dogs are allowed in the castle ground but not inside. The café is dog-friendly too and set in the old stables which is quite nice.
📍 Edinburgh Castle
📍 Stirling Castle
📍 Dunnottar Castle
📍 Craigievar Castle
📍 Dunrobin Castle & Gardens
Home of the Earls and Dukes of Sutherland since the 13th century. This is one of the most beautiful castles and gardens in the whole of Scotland and a must do on the NC 500.
🅿️ There are some parking spots right in front of the castle as well as a large overflow car park. Both are free.
🎟️ Tickets can be booked on site or on the official website.
⌛Opening dates: The castle is open from April to October
💡 My Top Tip: There is a member of staff in every room and they are very knowledgeable about the castle and the history of the clan so don’t hesitate to ask them questions.
❤️ My favourite part of the garden was the giant rhubarb. It’s so big! You can even see it from the castle.
🐶Dogs are not allowed in the castle or the gardens.
greeting from Georgia, i m interesting of making castle tour around england, can you share more details please, i want to make it with georgian small group
Hi 🙂
I do not run tours at this time however, I would highly recommend checking out Rabbie’s website as they are a fantastic small tour group operator and have a castle tour in Scotland as well many others in England.
Your email confirmation app does not seem to be working. I cannot download the castles of the UK map.
Hi Anthony, did you manage to get the map?
Hi I have not been able to download the map. Can you email it to me please?