The best castles near London for a day trip are Windsor Castle, 50 minutes away by car, Hever Castle and Leeds Castle in Kent, 1 hour 35 and 1 hour 36 minutes, and Highclere Castle, 1 hour 32 minutes. Dover, Arundel and Bodiam take about 2 hours. All times are weekday drives from Park Lane leaving at 08:30.
This guide covers eleven castles and royal palaces within about two hours of central London. Each one has its drive time, adult ticket price, winter opening and the kind of visitor it suits. Prices and dates were read on each castle’s official website on 28 October 2026.
The Tower of London is the one castle inside the city itself, so it needs no day trip: its ticket costs £38 for an adult and includes the Crown Jewels and a Yeoman Warder tour (Historic Royal Palaces).
Which castle should you pick if you only have one day?
Pick by what you want to see, then check the drive. Our suggestions:
- A royal castle that is still lived in: Windsor Castle, the closest of all. It leaves time for lunch in the town.
- The classic castle on a lake: Leeds Castle. Add Hever Castle, 58 minutes away, to see two castles in one day.
- Downton Abbey fans: Highclere Castle, but only on its open dates, so check them before you plan the trip.
- Henry VIII and the Tudors: Hampton Court Palace, or Hever Castle, the Boleyn family home.
- Medieval walls and towers: Bodiam Castle with its moat, or the tall Norman keep at Rochester.
- Castle and coast together: Dover Castle above the White Cliffs.
Windsor Castle: 50 minutes from London
Windsor is the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world. William the Conqueror founded it, and 40 monarchs have lived there since. The State Apartments and St George’s Chapel are the main visit.
Visiting: the castle opens all year from Thursday to Monday and is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so plan the trip for one of those five days. St George’s Chapel is closed to visitors on Sundays for services, so choose Thursday to Saturday or Monday to see it. Children aged 5 to 17 pay half the adult price. Christmas displays open on 26 November 2026. Our Windsor Castle tour from London takes about six hours from your hotel and back.
- Same day: Hampton Court Palace, also west of London, fits the same day on a longer trip of about eight hours.
- Best for: a first visit, a short day, and older visitors, with the shortest drive of all.
Tickets: adult £32, child (5–17) £16 in advance · £36 and £18 on the day
Our day trip: Windsor Castle, six hours · from £320 per car
Hampton Court Palace: 1 hour 3 minutes from London
Hampton Court is a palace rather than a castle, but it is the best Tudor day near London. You walk through Henry VIII’s kitchens, the Great Hall and the formal gardens by the Thames.
Visiting: prices rise slightly for the Winter Palace season, from 28 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, when the palace opens 10:00 to 16:30. Our Hampton Court Palace and Kew Gardens day adds the glasshouses at Kew in about four hours.
- Same day: Kew Gardens on our half-day trip, or Windsor Castle for a full day.
- Best for: Henry VIII and the Tudors, and a short drive.
Tickets: adult £30, child (5–15) £15 off-peak · Winter Palace from 28 November £33 and £16.50
Our day trip: Hampton Court and Kew, four hours · from £230 per car
Rochester Castle: 1 hour 19 minutes from London
Rochester has one of the tallest Norman keeps in England, built around 1127 and 113 feet high. In 1215 King John besieged it and used the fat of 40 pigs to burn away the props under one corner of the keep.
Visiting: English Heritage owns it and Medway Council runs it, opening Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm. It is the cheapest ticket on this list, and Leeds Castle is 27 minutes away by car, so the two fit in one day.
- Same day: Leeds Castle, 27 minutes away by car.
- Best for: a medieval keep you can climb, by narrow stone stairs, at the lowest price on this list.
Tickets: adult £9.50, child (5–17) £4.50 · free for English Heritage members
Highclere Castle (Downton Abbey): 1 hour 32 minutes from London
Highclere is the house filmed as Downton Abbey. It is still a family home, so it opens only on set dates. The Egyptian exhibition tells how the 5th Earl of Carnarvon helped find Tutankhamun’s tomb.
Dates and tickets: winter visits are pre-booked tours only, such as the Christmas tours from 18 November to 8 December 2026. The spring opening starts on 27 March 2027. Our Downton Abbey tour from London is planned around those open days.
- Same day: it fills the day on its own; we plan the trip around its open dates.
- Best for: Downton Abbey fans and the Tutankhamun story.
Tickets: spring 2027 opening: adult £32, child (4–16) £17.50 · Christmas tours with carols £65
Our day trip: Downton Abbey day trip · from £470 per car
Hever Castle: 1 hour 35 minutes from London
Hever was the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII’s second wife. It is a small moated castle, and the Astor family later added the Italian Garden and the lake.
Visiting: from 4 to 19 November it opens Wednesday to Sunday only, with the castle rooms from midday. Christmas at Hever runs from 20 November 2026 to 2 January 2027, with the castle closed on 25 and 26 December.
- Same day: Leeds Castle, 58 minutes away, on our two-castle trip.
- Best for: Anne Boleyn and the Tudors, and the gardens.
Tickets: castle and gardens: adult £25.50, child (5–17) £14.05 online, to 19 November
Our day trip: Leeds Castle and Hever Castle · from £500 per car
Leeds Castle: 1 hour 36 minutes from London
Leeds Castle sits on islands in a lake in Kent, not in the city of Leeds. It was home to six medieval queens and has more than 500 acres of parkland, a maze and a grotto.
Visiting: the ticket is valid for a year and under-3s go free. Christmas runs from 20 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, and from 4 January to 11 February 2027 it opens at weekends only. Our Leeds Castle and Hever Castle day trip visits both castles in one day.
- Same day: Hever Castle, 58 minutes away, or Rochester Castle, 27 minutes away.
- Best for: children, with the maze, the grotto and the parkland.
Tickets: adult £34.50, child (3–15) £24.50 online, valid for a year · £38.50 and £28 at the gate
Our day trip: Leeds Castle and Hever Castle · from £500 per car
Scotney Castle: 1 hour 42 minutes from London
Scotney is a small medieval castle ruin on a moated island, set in a Picturesque garden. Above it stands the Victorian house built by Edward Hussey III. It belongs to the National Trust.
Visiting: winter prices apply from 2 November. The garden opens daily from 10am to 4pm. A Christmas trail runs from 21 November 2026 to 3 January 2027. Bodiam Castle is 24 minutes away.
- Same day: Bodiam Castle, 24 minutes away.
- Best for: a quiet garden walk to a castle ruin on its moat.
Tickets: adult £15, child (5–17) £7.50 from 2 November · free for National Trust members
Warwick Castle: 1 hour 51 minutes from London
Warwick has more than 1,100 years of history. It is the furthest north of the castles here, in Warwickshire, so it suits a full day and pairs with Shakespeare’s town, Stratford-upon-Avon.
Visiting: buying online saves the most here. It opens daily from 10am to 4pm until 31 December, closed on Christmas Day. Our Stratford-upon-Avon and Warwick Castle day trip combines the castle with Shakespeare’s Birthplace.
- Same day: Stratford-upon-Avon, on our day trip.
- Best for: a full day out, paired with Shakespeare’s town.
Tickets: from £26 a person online · £39 on the day
Our day trip: Stratford-upon-Avon and Warwick Castle · from £620 per car
Bodiam Castle: 1 hour 59 minutes from London
Bodiam is the picture-book castle: a 14th-century square of towers standing in a wide moat. The walls are complete but the inside is a ruin, which children enjoy exploring. The National Trust runs it.
Visiting: National Trust members go free. From 2 November to 31 December 2026 the castle opens daily from 10am to 3:30pm.
- Same day: Scotney Castle, 24 minutes away.
- Best for: children who like climbing towers, by narrow stone stairs.
Tickets: adult £13, child (5–17) £6.50 · free for National Trust members
Arundel Castle: 2 hours 5 minutes from London
Arundel has stood since 1067 and keeps its Norman keep, while the rest was rebuilt in Gothic style in the late 1800s. It overlooks a small market town in West Sussex.
Season: the 2026 season ended on 1 November, so Arundel is closed until spring. The castle rooms open from midday in season, with last admission at 4pm.
- Same day: the town of Arundel below the castle.
- Best for: a spring or summer visit, when the castle and gardens reopen.
Tickets: in season, castle and gardens: adult £29, child £13 · reopens in spring 2027
Dover Castle: 2 hours 6 minutes from London
Dover Castle guards the shortest crossing to France. The ticket includes the Secret Wartime Tunnels dug into the cliffs; the Operation Dynamo section is closed for maintenance and the Underground Hospital is open.
Visiting: English Heritage prices hold until 16 March 2027. From 2 November to 20 December it opens at weekends only, closes from 21 to 26 December, and opens daily from 28 December to 3 January. Our Canterbury and White Cliffs of Dover day trip pairs the castle with Canterbury Cathedral.
- Same day: Canterbury Cathedral, on our day trip.
- Best for: the wartime tunnels, the White Cliffs, and children.
Tickets: adult £27.03, child £13.51 online · £31.80 and £15.90 at the gate, to 16 March 2027
Our day trip: Canterbury and Dover Castle · from £500 per car
Want to visit a castle by private car?
A private car collects you at your London hotel, waits at the castle and drives you back. One fixed price for the whole car.
How much does a private car to a castle near London cost?
Our castle day trips are priced per car, not per person, with the chauffeur waiting while you visit, and castle tickets are bought separately. The price of each trip is in the card under its castle above: from £230 for Hampton Court to £620 for Warwick with Stratford in a Mercedes E-Class (up to 3 passengers), or a V-Class for up to 7. See all of them on our private day trips from London page.
Rochester, Scotney, Bodiam and Arundel are not fixed trips yet. Ask us for a price and we reply with one fixed figure for the car. For more ideas beyond castles, see our 20 best day trips from London by car.
Frequently asked questions about castles near London
How many castles are there near London?
This guide lists eleven castles and royal palaces within about two hours of central London by car. The nearest is Windsor Castle at about 50 minutes, and the furthest are Arundel and Dover at just over two hours. Inside London itself, the Tower of London is the one true castle.
What is the closest castle to London?
The Tower of London stands in the City of London itself. Outside the city, Windsor Castle is the closest, about 50 minutes by car from Park Lane on a weekday morning. Hampton Court Palace, a Tudor palace rather than a castle, is about 1 hour 3 minutes away.
Which castle near London is best for a day trip?
For a first visit, Windsor Castle is the best day trip: it is the closest, open all year from Thursday to Monday and still a royal home. For a classic castle on a lake, choose Leeds Castle in Kent, about 1 hour 36 minutes away, and add Hever Castle on the same day.
Can you visit two castles in one day from London?
Yes, when the two are less than an hour apart. Leeds Castle and Hever Castle are 58 minutes apart, Rochester and Leeds 27 minutes, and Scotney and Bodiam 24 minutes. Plan two castles at most, because the drive back into London after 5pm takes longer.
Are castles near London open in winter?
Some are. Windsor Castle (Thursday to Monday), Hampton Court Palace and Warwick Castle stay open, while Dover and Leeds Castle open mainly at weekends in parts of the winter. Arundel Castle closes until spring, and Highclere Castle offers pre-booked tours only. Always check the official dates before you travel.
Do you need to book castle tickets in advance?
Booking online is usually cheaper. Windsor Castle costs £32 in advance and £36 on the day, and Leeds Castle £34.50 online and £38.50 at the gate. Highclere Castle must be booked ahead, because it opens only on set dates.
Sources
Ticket prices, opening dates and castle facts were read on each official website on 28 October 2026: Royal Collection Trust (Windsor), Historic Royal Palaces (Hampton Court, Tower of London), Leeds Castle, Hever Castle, Highclere Castle, English Heritage (Dover, Rochester), National Trust (Bodiam, Scotney), Warwick Castle, Arundel Castle. Drive times were measured with Google’s traffic model from Park Lane for a weekday 08:30 departure in October and November 2026. Dates change, so check each castle’s site before you travel.