Half price, then free, for English Heritage members
This place is cared for by Historic Environment Scotland. First-year English Heritage members get 50% off the ticket price; members who have renewed get in free. Bring your valid membership card, and any pre-booked tickets, to ensure entry.
More information
In-person price; £7.50 booked online. One undated price table is published; recheck in spring 2027. Children under 7 free but need a ticket; up to two carers free per transaction; Young Scot card holders pay £1 online. Explorer Pass accepted. No family ticket or audio guide. English Heritage members: half price in your first membership year and free after your first renewal, on showing a valid card; bookings capped at six people per membership. Historic Scotland members free.
In-person price; £3.50 booked online; under-7s free with a ticket. English Heritage members: half price in your first membership year and free after your first renewal, on showing a valid card; bookings capped at six people per membership. Historic Scotland members free.
In-person price; £6 booked online. English Heritage members: half price in your first membership year and free after your first renewal, on showing a valid card; bookings capped at six people per membership. Historic Scotland members free.
The Trust's page does not say how parking is charged.
Historic Scotland names a small level tarmac car park next to the visitor centre with two accessible spaces and a larger car park about 400 m from the visitor centre, with coach parking; no charge or free statement is published, so the status is recorded as unknown. Visitors with mobility issues drive down the single-lane road to the small car park by the shop to park or drop off, with toilets including an accessible one just past the shop; from there the castle is about 250 m along a gravel path and a gently sloping grass path over two timber bridges.
Driving pin: the larger car park, 597 m west-south-west of HES's pin on the castle. The castle is about 2 miles from North Berwick on the A198. By bus: the 26 and X5 between Edinburgh and North Berwick, with a stop at the end of the castle driveway. By rail: North Berwick. Bicycle rack on site.
Tantallon Castle is the last truly great castle built in Scotland, set high on a cliff edge with a massive red sandstone curtain wall closing off a promontory above the North Sea, the best example of castle architecture from the 1300s anywhere in the country. William Douglas, made Earl of Douglas in 1358, built it, and when the Douglases split in the 1380s it passed to the Red Douglases, who held it for 300 years and often clashed with the Crown. James IV besieged it in 1491 and James V in 1528. Cromwell's heavy guns ripped out the guts of the end towers in 1651 and the castle was abandoned. Climb to the battlements to marvel at its scale and for amazing views over the sea to the Bass Rock and its seabird colonies across the outer close with its doocot and ravelin. Visitors warn that the tower stairs are very steep and narrow, and bring a picnic. The east tower stair and doocot are closed for conservation.
Later dates are in the calendar.
Prices, non-members
| Ticket | On the day | Online |
|---|---|---|
| Adult | £8.50 | £7.50 |
| Concession | £6.80 | £6.00 |
| Child | £4.00 | £3.50 |
1 April to 30 September daily 9.30am to 5pm; 1 October to 31 March daily 10am to 4pm; last entry 45 minutes before closing; closed 24 and 26 December (as HES prints it, probably 25 and 26) and 1 and 2 January. Historic Scotland recommends booking in advance to guarantee entry. Notice: no visitor access to the east tower staircase or the doocot during conservation work; the rest of the castle is open.
The castle is 250 m from the visitor centre along a gravel path and a gently sloping grass path with a steepest gradient of 1 in 10, over two timber bridges and some cobbles; the towers are climbed by very steep, narrow spiral stairs with a rope handrail. Two picnic tables and two benches by the ticket office and more benches around the site; toilets and accessible toilet by the shop; self-service tea and coffee, no cafe; a fact-finding quiz for children. Dogs on leads in the outdoor areas.
Dogs: Visitors' dogs are allowed in the outdoor areas on a lead at all times and not left unattended; HES's general rule keeps them out of the visitor centre and roofed areas. The outer close, the clifftop grounds and the doocot area, on a lead.
Photo: Tantallon Castle's red sandstone curtain wall and central gate tower across the grassy outer close, with the doocot on the left and the Bass Rock out at sea. Gunther Tschuch, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tantallon_Castle_and_Bass_Rock.jpg. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0. Resized and cropped for display; derivatives retain the source licence.
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Dog access not confirmed
6 miles (10 km) one way, about 2.5 hours, a walk from North Berwick Law along the John Muir Way and coast to the castle; buses 26 and X5 back to North Berwick from the stop at the end of the castle driveway; North Berwick station. Free; castle admission separate.
