Carrickfergus Castle — Attraction in Carrickfergus

The Castle itself was amazing. However our short tour was unexpected. We had visited Carrick town for a meal as a family of Grandmother , Daughter and three Grandchildren aged 4 and under. Afterwards we had a walk around the harbour and for the first time saw the gates to the Castle were open. My Daughter and Grandaughter needed the bathroom and in the shop asked if there were toilets, to be told " Yes. But you will have to pay £ 12 as they are inside the Castle. !!! " It was half past 4 and the Castle was due to close shortly, but we were not allowed to use the facilities so my Daughter went ahead and I paid £ 12 . As I paid I mentioned to the member of staff that the last time I visited was in the 60s as a child on a school trip. I seem to remember some kind of Zoo with dark sone stairs and Monkeys in cages . I asked if he knew about this. I was very upset at his response, telling me that I was thinking of somewhere else, getting mixed up and laughing. As I took my ticket and browsed in the shop I overheard him telling other staff about what I had said and having a good laugh at my expense. It left a sour taste in my mouth and although the internal staff were lovely ,and the Castle beautiful , we were guided out without seeing the whole thing due to having to buy our ticket at this late hour , I felt upset the whole evening. I am in my 60s but I am definitly not senile , or deserve to be laughed at by someone who is a face that greets visitors, a supposed welcome , full of knowledge. He should have put customer service first and checked out my comment to see if I rembered correctly and if Monkeys were at one time kept there, added it to interesting facts , not sniggered behind my back. 10 out of 10 for the Castle and other staff . 0 out of 10 for the unpleasant an humiliating experience in the ...

Being familiar with Lego medieval castle sets in my younger days, I thought I knew it all about the castle game. How wrong I was..

Visited on a Sunday morning after a modest breakfast of baked beans, hash browns, scrambled eggs, a slice of home made wheaten bread with easy spread butter and a steaming hot mug of freshly brewed coffee. Delicious it was.. However, I digress. Forgive me.

The castle is 800 years old and was built by the Normans. There's suits of armour, heraldic flags, oversized chess, decommissioned cannons and well put together educational videos explaining the long and varied history of the landmark.

The castle is excellently positioned for stunning commanding views across the lough and is convenient to the hustle and bustle of Carrickfergus town, affectionately known by almost no-one as Carrick-fun-gus. Friendly and knowledgeable tour guides will take you round the generously proportioned rooms and narrow stairways to bring the past to life. Im v glad I live in the present day, medieval toilet arrangements were a bit too rough and ready for my delicate disposition. I'll say no more on the matter, but I think you can guess where I'm coming from.

Wear sensible shoes. I myself wore a pair of scuffed but serviceable brown brogues that I found buried in my back garden in April 1967. They were encased in a rusted old fashioned tool box which was very mysterious.

Highly...

We’ve been to Carrickfergus before and seen the castle but only from the outside. On this visit—we’re from Western Canada—we discovered we could go inside. The entrance fee was very reasonable (£6 for adults) and it INCLUDED a guided tour. We showed up a little early for the tour and showed ourselves around to orient ourselves to the castle. You should know that I have a PhD in history (specialization in another geographical area and subject) so I’m a little bit of a history buff. I wasn’t getting my hopes up. Before the tour started, we bumped into Fran, and he told us many stories and great things about the castle. He was also able to answer my questions about current maintenance, responsibility, ethical concerns for a historical site, etc. I was pleasantly surprised. Our tour was conducted by Jimmy, full of facts, stories and dates. He satisfied my curiosities about Medieval Northern Ireland that afternoon and did it with the best of dispositions. I have nothing but good things to say of our experience from the till to the sill (of the exit) and sing the praises of this joint venture between the Northern Ireland administration of its heritage along with the local council in days to day operations. Hats off to Carrickfergus Castle and its staff with special mentions for...