Mortimer's Hole
The rock-cut passage Edward III's men crept through in 1330, one of the two routes on the £9 cave tour.
Do not come looking for turrets; there are none. What stands on Castle Rock today is an Italianate ducal mansion, not a medieval fortress. Parliament pulled down the Norman castle after the Civil War in 1651, the Duke of Newcastle built his palace on the footprint, rioters burned it out in 1831, and the shell was rebuilt in the 1870s as the first municipal art gallery outside London. What survives of the real castle is the curtain wall, the stone gatehouse and the caves cut into the sandstone, above all Mortimer's Hole, the passage through which Edward III's men crept in 1330 to seize Roger Mortimer. So anyone expecting an Edinburgh Castle will leave deflated, and plenty of reviews say exactly that, especially at £18 for an adult. The sums look different with children: up to three under-16s go free with each paying adult, and the interactive Robin Hood Adventures gallery plus the timber adventure playground in the grounds will hold them for a good hour. The other galleries cover the city's history of riot and rebellion, the Nottingham lace that once made it famous, fine and decorative art, and the Mercian Regiment's military museum. The ticket is valid for a year, which only helps if you live nearby. The cave tour, a £9 add-on running daily from 11am and taking either Mortimer's Hole or the King David's Dungeon caves, is the most honest piece of history on the site: steep, uneven rock-cut steps with no handrail in places, no pushchairs and not for under-threes, but the closest you will get to the original castle. The mansion itself has lifts to every floor, the grounds are easy walking, and there are two cafés and a shop. From February to October it opens 10am to 5pm with last entry at 4pm; from November to January it shrinks to 11am to 4pm with last entry at 3pm, and in that short-daylight English winter the famous view over the city from the rock comes in flat grey light, so summer is far better. There is no visitor parking, so use a city-centre car park or walk about ten minutes up from the railway station. Before paying anything, go down to Castle Road beneath the walls, where the bronze Robin Hood of 1952 stands: free, and the photograph most people came for. If Wollaton Hall and Newstead Abbey are also on your list, the £39 Rover pass covers all three.
The rock-cut passage Edward III's men crept through in 1330, one of the two routes on the £9 cave tour.
An interactive gallery and timber adventure playground that make the visit worthwhile with children, who enter free.
The 1952 bronze below the walls on Castle Road, free and outside the ticketed area.
Lenton Road, Nottingham NG1 6EL
Without children and with no interest in museums, the statue, walls and gatehouse from outside are enough in half an hour. With children the maths flips, since they enter free and the Robin Hood gallery and playground justify the price.
Not for pushchairs or under-threes, and the steps are steep with no handrail in places. Fine for school-age children and up, with sensible shoes.