Things to see and do at Beeston Castle
A visit to Beeston Castle gives you a range of exciting experience to explore. As well as climbing the castle, there’s a Bronze Age roundhouse just waiting for you to step inside, mysterious stories about hidden treasure, an exhibition about the site, and a rather nice cafe. Below you’ll find out more about the highlights of a trip to Beeston Castle.
Climb the castle
Climb to the top of Beeston castle, admire its mighty double-towered gatehouse and peer down into the spiralling well below.
This is one of the deepest castle wells in England, steeped in legend as the hiding place of Richard II's lost treasure.
Thought to be buried here in 1399, the treasure has been missing for centuries despite many attempts to find it.
Visit a bronze age roundhouse
People have lived and worked at Beeston for 4,000 years. Today all that remains of the site’s prehistoric origins are the Iron Age earthworks, later adapted by medieval castle builders.
Step into Beeston’s prehistoric past in our recreated roundhouse and learn about the people who once lived here during the Bronze Age and Iron Age. Inside, you’ll find arrowheads, stone axes, pots of varying sizes and faux animal hides, so you can get hands-on and immerse yourself in all things Bronze Age during your visit. Read more about the Roundhouse here.
Enjoy enchanting woodland
Enjoy the fresh air as you wander along the winding woodland paths surrounding Beeston castle. The beautiful habitat and surrounding Cheshire landscape is a paradise for walkers and nature lovers alike.
Beeston is home to a wide variety of wildlife from foxes, rabbits and bats to buzzards and even peregrine falcons.
Explore the exhibition
Re-live 4,000 years of history as you explore the fascinating 'Castle of the Rock' exhibition in the visitor centre.
Travel through time from the Bronze Age to Beeston's glory days as a medieval fortress to its ultimate decline in the Civil War.
What we see today is a picturesque ruin of a once formidable castle as captured by JMW Turner in his 1809 painting.
Refuel at the Sandstone Café
Refuel after your adventures at Beeston Castle at the nearby Sandstone Café. There’s no indoor seating at the cafe, but there are plenty of picnic tables outside.
The Sandstone Cafe serves a delicious range of hot and cold drinks and snacks, as well as delicious cream teas and cakes. Whether you are looking for a morning pastry, some warming soup or jacket potato, the cafe caters for a range of dietary and lifestyle choices.
The Sandstone Cafe is open to the public, and you don't need to pay admission to the castle to visit.