Visiting Skipton Castle – North Yorkshire

Distance 10 miles from Haworth

Travel time by car About 35 mins

Location Skipton Castle, Skipton, North Yorkshire BD23 1AQ Tel:01756 792442

N53° 57. 847 W002° 00. 917 Map here… About Skipton here…

Elevation 515ft

Date visited 31/08/2004

Length of visit 2hrs

Opening times As of January 2009: Open daily from 10am (Sunday 12 noon), except for 25 December. Last admission is at 6pm (October – February 4pm).

Website www.skiptoncastle.co.uk

Prices

As of January 2009:

Adults: £5.80

Children (5-17): £3.20

Children under 5: free

Over 60s and students: £5.20

Family Ticket for two adults and up to 3 children over 5: £17.90 (saves up to £3.30).

Guides are available for pre-booked parties at no extra cost (reduced rate of £4.80 per head for adult parties of 15 or more).

The history of Skipton castle can be traced back to about 1090 when Robert de Romille built a timber fort on the site. This was replaced with a stone castle, in 1310 the Clifford family were given the property by Edward II.

During the Civil War of 1642-51 the castle was under siege for three years from Oliver Cromwell and his Parliamentary forces until 1645 when a surrender was negotiated. In 1648 they reoccupied the castle and set about demolishing the castles defenses.

In the 1650’s Lady Anne Clifford was allowed to restore the castle on the condition that the upper walls were thinner and the roof was not made strong enough to support cannon. The rainwater gutters have the family arms and the year 1659 which was the date the castle was restored.

The Cliffords’ used the castle until 1676. Today their banner flies from the castle with approval from the present Lord Clifford of Chudleigh.

The castle is built around a courtyard. The Yew tree was planted as a sapling in 1659 by Lady Anne Clifford upon completion of the restoration of the castle.

There is a free guide which explains the best way to explore the castle, it also means you follow a route in the same direction which is helpful as some of the passageways are narrow.