Nottingham Castle will fully reopen on June 26 with a new pricing structure which means adults will be able to pay £12 to visit the site all year. The historic venue has been closed since its previous operators, the Nottingham Castle Trust, declared itself insolvent last November.
The Castle was handed back to Nottingham City Council, which has been drawing up plans for a reopening since. The authority has now announced that all visitors will be able to access the Castle and its grounds from Monday, June 26.
A new ticketing arrangement means adults who pay £12 once will be able to visit all year, with the price also including access to the Brewhouse Yard Cottages, Robin Hood Adventures and Rebellion Galleries. Children who are 15 years old and under will be able to go to the Castle for free, with the offer applying for up to three children per paying adult.
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Two cave tours, Mortimer's Hole and King David's Dungeon, will be running at a cost of £5 per person whilst the new Land Train, which first launched last summer, will return at weekends and in the peak holiday season. Nottingham City Council's portfolio holder for leisure, culture and planning, Councillor Pavlos Kotsonis, said: "Nottingham without its castle is like Robin Hood without his merry men, so it's going to be fantastic to have it back at the heart of our city's life.
"We hope this announcement will come as welcome news, as we have endeavoured to listen to what visitors didn't like about the Trust's admission arrangements, and I believe the simpler pricing and exceptional value we are announcing will help to encourage visitors, near and far, to come back again and again."
As part of a gradual reopening, the public have been able to access Nottingham Castle's grounds for particular events throughout May. This has included screenings of the King's Coronation service, the Coronation Concert and the Eurovision final.
The grounds will also open again over the upcoming Bank Holiday weekend for a 'Medieval Legends' event. Peter Knott, the Midlands Area Director for Arts Council England, said: "We're pleased to hear that Nottingham Castle will soon be reopening its doors to visitors.
"It's a great asset to the city and a place for people to celebrate the rich history and creativity of Nottingham. This much-loved visitor attraction is home to important museum collections, great art and unique historic buildings, and we look forward to it reopening with Nottingham City Council at the helm."
The failure of the Nottingham Castle Trust and the closure of the venue caused upset across the city, with campaigners staging protests demanding free access to the site's grounds. It was then revealed in February that the failure of the Trust had cost Nottingham City Council £590,000 in terms of lost income and fees.
Nottingham City Council first handed over Nottingham Castle to the Trust in 2021, when the site reopened after a revamp costing over £30 million. But during the Trust's control, the site became blighted by a report into allegations of a racist incident, the resignation of several staff members and widespread criticism over prices.
After the site was given back to the council, it originally said that a reopening date would be announced in January, but this had to be pushed back. Following Friday's announcement, a new website has also been launched, where people are now able to book advance tickets.
The site will be open from 10am until 5pm daily from February to October, and then 11am until 4pm daily from November to January. Free disabled parking will be available at the site, subject to availability and advance booking.
Robyn Llewellyn, a director at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: "Having supported the restoration and conservation of this very important historic site, we are looking forward to seeing Nottingham City Council re-open the gates to the Castle in June. We are heartened that visitors can enjoy this important beacon of the region’s rich cultural heritage once more."
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