Lancaster Castle tours win top UK tourism award

The Lancaster Castle tours have been awarded the Best Told Story at the 2025 VisitEngland Accolade Awards, which celebrate excellence in storytelling and engagement among visitors across the best attractions in the UK.

The VisitEngland Accolade Awards, presented by the national tourism board, acknowledge excellence in attractions that deliver outstanding experiences for visitors, and the castle tours at Lancaster were recognised after a commendatory assessment in 2024.

Being awarded this accolade, Lancaster Castle can now display the official VisitEngland Best Told Story logo, highlighting that it is one of the UK’s leading heritage attractions.

The assessor of Lancaster Castle’s guided tours awarded the tours with a 92 per cent mark and identified them as being exceptional, scoring top in four out of five categories.

The assessor stated in a report that the tour was ‘extremely well structured’ and that the castle had ‘immaculately maintained courtrooms’.

Tour guide James Houghton and museum manager at Lancaster Castle, Dr Colin Penny, attended the official awards ceremony, which was held at the British Motor Museum on November 12 2025.

The assessor also noted: “The tour guide’s exceptional knowledge, skill, good humour and enthusiasm brought all areas to life with a careful blend of facts and anecdotes. The guide was a natural storyteller and had a captive, engaged audience from start to finish…Barring a couple of small tweaks to the conclusion, this tour was flawless.”

Owned by the Duchy of Lancaster, the castle dates back to Roman times and has stood as a symbol for justice, power and resilience for nearly 1,000 years.

Most Read

Three couples were together at MAFS UK 2025 reunion, but their statuses are very different now

‘It was love’: Reiss admits he got back with his ex after split from MAFS UK bride Leisha

Woman kicked out Burna Boy concert for falling asleep reveals sad reason she was so tired

Lancaster Castle has had many uses over the years, including a royal fortress, a centre for laws and order, and it was also one of Europe’s longest operating prisons. The castle has been the topic of royal warfare, visits and also home to the notoriously infamous Pendle Witch trials.

However, today, the castle offers guided tours all year round that offer visitors a journey through time to witness centuries of British history – exploring royal courtrooms, prison cells and medieval stories.