Wakefield Museums and Castles

We want everyone to enjoy exploring and discovering our museums and castles. Our team are happy to answer your questions and help you to have a great visit.

We will always:

• Be welcoming

• Treat everyone with respect

• Try to make our sites accessible to as many people as possible – if there’s something else we can do to make your visit easier or more comfortable, please let us know

Our visitor guidelines help to make sure that everyone has the best experience. They ensure the safety and comfort of all visitors and staff and the preservation of our museum collections.  Please follow any requests from our team.

• Our staff and visitors have the right to work/visit in a safe environment free from harassment, violence or threatening behaviour. Please treat them with respect.

• Smoking or vaping is not permitted at any of our sites – please use designated smoking areas outside our sites

• We always welcome assistance dogs. Please do not bring other animals to our sites.

• Parents, or caregivers, are responsible for the actions and safety of their children. Please have fun with, and supervise, your children

• Please respect any ‘no touching’ guidance. This is for your safety and to help us preserve our fragile historic objects. There are lots of hands-on opportunities in our spaces – look out for signs letting you know what you can touch.

• Non-flash photography for personal use is normally permitted. Any commercial filming or photography should be arranged with our team in advance.

• You may not make any recording or take any photograph of any person without the authorisation of that person

• No food or drink to be consumed within the display areas. Food and drinks can attract pests, which can harm our museum objects.

• Please be aware that CCTV is in operation 24hrs a day

• Weapons should not be brought into our sites without the prior approval of a curator (in the case of identifications or donations) or the site manager (in the case of re-enactment events).

• No climbing on the stonework or steep banking

• Please keep dogs on a lead at all times and pick up and dispose of dog waste in the bins provided. Additional dog waste bags are available from the Pontefract Castle shop.

• Please do not drop litter. Take your rubbish home with you or use the bins provided.

• The use of drones is not permitted on or over the Castle sites without prior approval

• Barbecues and naked flames are not permitted.

• Our castle sites are Scheduled Monuments. Metal detecting and digging of any kind are not permitted.

• Ball games, bike riding and scooters are all permitted, provided they are undertaken responsibly, but please keep your distance from the castle ruins and other visitors.

• Please do not bring any garden structures (e.g. gazebos) onto our sites

• Anyone appearing to be intoxicated will be asked to leave.

• Additional guidelines may apply on event days - please check signage and tickets for details.

Our staff have the authority to ask you to leave if they feel any of the above guidelines have been broken, or that your behaviour is negatively impacting on the enjoyment of our sites by others.

We welcome organised group visits to our sites.

To help keep our sites an enjoyable place for everyone, please note the following:

• If you plan to visit with a group of more than 6 please contact us in advance so we can check that your chosen site is able to accommodate you, and make you aware of any appropriate offers and resources. Email us at museums@wakefield.gov.uk

• Some of our sites have spaces which are subject to limited capacities or can become inaccessible due to activities such as scheduled maintenance works or exhibition installations. Contacting us in advance of your group visit will ensure that our staff are expecting you and that your group gets the most out of your visit

• Please follow the visitor guidelines listed in this document and in our Visitor Admissions Policy

For more detail on what you can expect from a visit, please see our visual stories for the appropriate site:

• Castleford Museum visual story

• Pontefract Museum visual story

• Wakefield Museum visual story

We have a variety of supporting materials and special experiences available which can be booked in advance to support and enhance group visits to our sites, from free self-led learning resources to talks, tours and creative workshops.