Key facts
- Operator
- Continuum Attractions
- Condition
- Partial ruin
- Access
- Staffed, ticketed
- Stays
- Overnight accommodation available
Pinpoint
44-46 Oxford Castle, Oxford OX1 1AY
Telephone 01865 260663
Possible Opening hours
Opening times change. Always check the official website before you travel.
| Monday | 10:00 AM – 5:30 PM |
| Tuesday | 10:00 AM – 5:30 PM |
| Wednesday | 10:00 AM – 5:30 PM |
| Thursday | 10:00 AM – 5:30 PM |
| Friday | 10:00 AM – 5:30 PM |
| Saturday | 10:00 AM – 5:30 PM |
| Sunday | 10:00 AM – 5:30 PM |
A working prison until 1996, now a guided visitor attraction combined with the remains of the Norman castle it grew out of, with the former prison wing next door converted into a Malmaison hotel you can pop into even without staying. The tours lean into the darker history - punishments, imprisonments, the mound with its views over the city - and reviewers consistently rate the guides as the best part.
Worth the trip
The climb up St George's Tower and the mound, which reviewers say gives one of the better rooftop views over Oxford anywhere in the city.
Before you go
There's a paid photo-op inside the prison (around £20) that catches some visitors off guard - you're not allowed to photograph it yourself, so decide in advance whether you want it; the Malmaison hotel next door is worth a free look even if you're not staying, for the prison-to-hotel contrast.
Reviewers repeatedly single out the guided tours and individual guides by name as the highlight, alongside the views from the top of the mound and tower. The main practical caveat is a steep, narrow spiral staircase to reach those views, and one visitor was frustrated by an extra charge for a souvenir photo taken inside the prison.
Malmaison hotel in former prison wing
“Would advised not to take the steps up to the top of the tower because very steep, narrow and tight spiral staircase. Great views once you get to the top.”— Mick Hirst, visitor review
