A Hever Castle day out is £22.35 an adult booked online until 1 September, then £25.50. Verified 2026 prices, opening hours, mazes, boating and parking.

A Hever Castle day out is the biggest single thing you can do in a day from Sevenoaks without leaving the district, and it is also the one where the price you pay depends most on when you book. The same adult Castle and Gardens ticket costs £22.35 or £28.40 in 2026 depending on the date and whether you bought it in advance, and the cheaper half of that gap closes on 1 September (Hever Castle).

Everything below is taken from Hever’s own published pages and checked in August 2026: the prices, the opening hours that change four times a year, what is included in a ticket and what is not, and the two things people most often turn up expecting that Hever no longer does.

What a Hever Castle day out costs in 2026

Hever runs two price bands. The Great British Summer Savings band applies from 25 June to 1 September 2026, and the standard band from 2 September to 19 November. Every ticket is cheaper booked online than paid at the gate, and children under five go free on any ticket (Hever Castle).

Hever Castle and Gardens admission in 2026, by ticket type and how you buy it
TicketTo 1 Sep, onlineTo 1 Sep, on the gateFrom 2 Sep, onlineFrom 2 Sep, on the gate
Adult£22.35£24.85£25.50£28.40
Senior 60+ or student£19.80£22.00£22.60£25.10
Child, 5 to 17£12.30£13.70£14.05£15.60
Child, under 5FreeFreeFreeFree
Family£58.30£64.80£66.60£74.00

A family ticket covers two adults and up to three children, or one adult and up to four children, all aged 5 to 17 (Hever Castle).

If the castle interior is not the point of the trip, a Gardens Only ticket takes a useful amount off. To 1 September that is £17.50 an adult, £10.95 a child and £47.85 for a family booked online. From 2 September it is £19.95, £12.50 and £54.65 (Hever Castle). Gardens Only still gets you the 125 acres, both mazes, the playgrounds and the lake, which is most of what younger children come for.

Bar chart of what one adult pays for a Hever Castle and Gardens ticket in 2026: £22.35 booked online to 1 September, £24.85 on the gate to 1 September, £25.50 booked online from 2 September, £28.40 on the gate from 2 September
The same ticket, four prices. Booking ahead is worth £2.50 to £2.90 a head at any time of year, and going before 2 September is worth another £3.15 on top of that.

What it means for you: if you were planning a September visit anyway, moving it to the last weekend of August saves a family of four £8.30 before you have bought a coffee. If you cannot move the date, book online rather than paying at the gate, which saves £7.40 on the same family ticket.

Getting there from Sevenoaks

Hever sits three miles southeast of Edenbridge, off the B2026, the road that runs down from Sevenoaks towards East Grinstead. The postcode for the car parks is TN8 7NG, and drivers coming from the north use junctions 5 or 6 of the M25 or the Hildenborough exit of the A21 (Hever Castle). From Sevenoaks it is a straightforward run of about 25 minutes on country roads.

Parking is free, which is worth knowing because it is not true of most days out at this price point. Accessible parking is available, and the car parks close 15 minutes after the last exit from the grounds (Hever Castle).

By train it is more awkward than the map suggests, because Hever is not on the Sevenoaks line. Edenbridge Town station takes trains from London Victoria and London Bridge, and Hever’s own advice is to take a taxi for the three miles from there and to book it in advance. Hever station is the next one along the same line, but it is unmanned, has no taxis, and leaves you a one-mile rural walk to the castle, signed with markers (Hever Castle). Coming from Sevenoaks, driving is the sensible answer.

Opening hours change four times a year

Hever’s hours are not one set of times. The grounds and the castle open at different times from each other, and both shorten sharply once the clocks go back (Hever Castle):

  • 28 March to 25 October, daily: grounds 10:30 to 18:00, castle 12:00 to 17:45. Last entry to the grounds 16:30, to the castle 17:00.
  • 26 October to 1 November, daily: grounds 10:30 to 16:30, castle 12:00 to 16:15. Last entry to the grounds 15:00, to the castle 15:30.
  • 4 to 19 November, Wednesday to Sunday: the same shorter hours.
  • 20 November to 2 January: the Christmas programme, which runs to its own timetable and its own tickets.
  • 11 February to 27 March: grounds 10:30 to 16:30, castle 12:00 to 16:15.

The detail that catches people out is the noon castle opening. Arrive at half past ten and you have an hour and a half of gardens before the castle doors open at all, which is fine if you know it and annoying if you do not.

Inside the castle

The castle is a double-moated 14th-century building that was Anne Boleyn’s childhood home, then restored on a large scale by the American millionaire William Waldorf Astor from 1903. Hever suggests allowing at least an hour inside, and says the castle is usually busiest in the morning and early afternoon (Hever Castle).

What is actually in there: panelled rooms with a large painting collection, described by Hever as one of the best collections of Tudor portraits after the National Portrait Gallery; two prayer books that belonged to Anne Boleyn and carry her inscriptions and signature; the Long Gallery, which holds a permanent exhibition running from the Wars of the Roses to the Reformation; and the Astor Suite of pictures and memorabilia from the Edwardian restoration. Audio guides are included with admission (Hever Castle).

Through this year there is a strong reason to pay for the castle rather than the gardens alone. Capturing a Queen: The Image of Anne Boleyn runs from 11 February 2026 to 2 January 2027 and is included with Castle admission at no extra cost. It is the largest gathering of portraits believed to show Anne Boleyn ever assembled, includes a newly identified contemporary portrait shown for the first time, and presents new scientific findings on Hever’s own Hever Rose portrait from the research of Dr Owen Emmerson (Hever Castle).

The grounds: two mazes and a nine-metre play castle

The Yew Maze is about a hundred years old, planted as part of Astor’s Edwardian work. It is eighty feet by eighty feet, the hedges stand eight feet high, and there is close to a quarter of a mile of path inside it. Hever suggests allowing half an hour. It is open all year, weather permitting, with final entry 45 minutes before the grounds close and final exit 15 minutes before closing (Hever Castle).

The Water Maze on Sixteen Acre Island is the one children remember. It is a set of concentric stepping stone walkways over water; some stones tilt when you stand on them and set off hidden jets, and the game is to reach the stone grotto at the centre without being soaked. Shoes must be worn, under-fives need an adult with them, and there are no toilets in that part of the grounds. Take a towel and a change of clothes for anyone under about ten (Hever Castle).

Tudor Towers is the adventure playground: a nine-metre wooden play castle with three towers, two fireman’s poles, a moat and drawbridge, a cargo net, netted tunnels, a well with a hidden tunnel, a secret dungeon, musical instruments and a roof maze. It is included in admission, and Hever suggests 30 minutes to an hour per play area (Hever Castle).

Picnics are allowed throughout the grounds, and Hever names Horse Shoe Lawn, Half Moon Lawn and Two Sisters’ Lawn as the spots to head for (Hever Castle). Given what the cafes charge on top of a £25 ticket, that is the single easiest saving on the day.

What costs extra, and what has gone

Boating is not included. A rowing boat on the lake is £25 for 30 minutes and an electric boat is £40 for 30 minutes, paid on the day at the Edwardian Boathouse by cash or card. It is not pre-bookable and it depends on both weather and staff being available. The 2026 season runs at weekends, bank holidays and in school holidays from 28 March to 22 September, from 10:30 to 16:00, with all boats in by 17:00. Anyone under 14 needs an adult with them, life jackets are available on request, and annual members get £1 off a rowing boat (Hever Castle).

Afternoon tea for day visitors has gone. Several round-ups still send people to Hever for it, but Hever’s own site now offers afternoon tea in the Astor Wing only as a private-hire dining event. The Waterside Restaurant at Hever’s golf site, about a mile away, serves it year round (Hever Castle). If a tiered stand is the whole point of the outing, our guide to afternoon tea in Sevenoaks has the options that are actually bookable.

Dogs come, but not everywhere. Dogs on leads are welcome around the grounds, with dog bowls at the Moat Restaurant and the Guthrie Pavilion Restaurant, both of which have outside seating. They cannot go into the cafes and restaurants, the castle or the adventure playground, though there is a rest area in the castle courtyard for dogs while you go inside. Hever asks that no dog is ever left in a car in its car parks (Hever Castle).

Wheelchairs can be hired, four manual chairs, on a £25 refundable deposit and booked in advance. Wheelchair and mobility scooter users are asked to stay on the hard-surfaced shingle paths (Hever Castle).

When to go

Between now and 1 September you get the longest opening hours of the year, the boating season, and the cheaper price band at the same time. That combination does not come round again until next summer.

After that, two dated runs are worth planning around. Halloween Half Term Fun covers 17 October to 1 November 2026 and is included with normal admission, which makes Hever one of the few places near Sevenoaks that genuinely fills a whole day of October half term. Then the Christmas programme runs from 20 November to 24 December, on separate tickets, with a virtual queue when booking opens; the dates and the booking mechanics are in our guide to Father Christmas near Sevenoaks.

Frequently asked questions

How long do you need at Hever Castle? A full day if you are paying for Castle and Gardens. Hever suggests at least an hour for the castle itself, half an hour for the Yew Maze and 30 minutes to an hour per play area, and that is before the 125 acres of grounds, the lake walk or lunch (Hever Castle; mazes).

Is parking free at Hever Castle? Yes. Parking is free and accessible parking is available. The car parks close 15 minutes after the last exit from the grounds (Hever Castle).

Is it cheaper to book Hever Castle tickets online? Always. An adult Castle and Gardens ticket is £25.50 online against £28.40 at the gate from 2 September 2026, and £22.35 against £24.85 before then. The saving is £2.50 to £2.90 a head, or £6.50 to £7.40 on a family ticket (Hever Castle).

Can you visit the gardens without paying for the castle? Yes, and it is a real saving. Gardens Only is £19.95 an adult online from 2 September against £25.50 for Castle and Gardens, and it still includes both mazes, the playgrounds, the lake and all 125 acres (Hever Castle).

What time does the castle itself open? Noon, every day it is open, while the grounds open at 10:30. Last entry to the castle is 17:00 in the long summer season and 15:30 once the shorter autumn hours start on 26 October (Hever Castle).

Can you take a picnic to Hever Castle? Yes. Picnics are allowed throughout the grounds, and Hever points visitors to Horse Shoe Lawn, Half Moon Lawn and Two Sisters’ Lawn (Hever Castle).

Sources