Leeds Castle is £34.50 an adult online, £115 for a family, and the ticket lasts a year. Winter hours, closure dates, parking, dogs and getting there.
Leeds Castle costs £34.50 an adult booked online, and that one payment gets you back in free for a year. That is the single most useful thing to know before a day out at Leeds Castle from Sevenoaks. It changes the sums completely if you might go more than once.
Everything below comes from Leeds Castle’s own pages, checked on 29 October 2026. It covers what you pay, the winter hours, the dates the castle and the whole estate shut, and the rules that catch people at the gate.
Leeds Castle key facts
| Adult ticket | £34.50 online, £38.50 on site (16 and over) |
|---|---|
| Child ticket | £24.50 online, £28 on site (3 to 15); under 3s free |
| Family, 2 adults and up to 3 children | £115 online, £128.50 on site |
| How long the ticket lasts | 12 months from the date you pick when booking |
| Hours to 19 November | Grounds 10am to 5pm, castle 10.30am to 3.30pm, last entry 3pm |
| Parking | Included in admission; main car park 9.45am to 5pm |
| Dogs | Assistance dogs only |
| Postcode | ME17 1RG, junction 8 of the M20 |
Sources: Leeds Castle pricing, opening times and directions and FAQs.
What a ticket costs, and why it lasts a year
Leeds Castle calls its standard ticket the Explorer. It covers the castle, the gardens, 500 acres of parkland, the maze and grotto, the playgrounds and the birds of prey displays. Every Explorer ticket is valid for a year, and you can come back as often as you like in that time (Leeds Castle).
The year starts on the date you choose when you book. You do not have to visit that day. If someone is ill, you simply go another day within the 12 months (Leeds Castle FAQs).
| Ticket | Online | On site |
|---|---|---|
| Adult, 16 and over | £34.50 | £38.50 |
| Child, 3 to 15 | £24.50 | £28.00 |
| Infant, under 3 | Free | Free |
| Family 1: 1 adult, up to 3 children | £87.00 | £97.00 |
| Family 2: 2 adults, up to 3 children | £115.00 | £128.50 |
| Disabled adult plus free carer | £30.00 | £35.50 |
| Disabled child plus free carer | £22.00 | £24.50 |
Prices are from the Leeds Castle pricing page. One small inconsistency: the same page gives the on-site Family 1 price as £97 in its table and £97.50 in its banner. The booking page says £97.
What it means for you: a family of two adults and two children pays £115 online, against £128.50 at the gate. Bought separately, the same four tickets online would be £118, so the family ticket saves only £3 with two children. With three children it saves £27.50.
The bigger saving is going back. A second visit inside the year brings the cost to £57.50 a visit for that family. A third brings it to £38.33. For comparison, one family visit to Hever Castle is £66.60 booked online until 19 November (Hever Castle), and that ticket is for one day only. Our Hever Castle guide has its full price list.
Is the Ultimate Explorer worth it?
The Ultimate Explorer adds six trips on the Black Swan Ferry or Elsie the Castle Train, plus one round of adventure golf. It costs £45.50 an adult and £33 a child online (Leeds Castle). That is £11 more an adult and £8.50 more a child.
Paid separately, the train is £1.50 a trip for an adult and £1 for a child, and the golf is £3.50 and £3 (Leeds Castle train, adventure golf). Six trips and a round would cost an adult £12.50 and a child £9. So the upgrade saves £1.50 an adult and 50p a child, and only if you use every trip. The ferry does not run at all from November to March, so in winter most people should buy the standard ticket and pay for the train on the day. Both the train and the golf take cards only.
Getting there from Sevenoaks
Leeds Castle is 7 miles east of Maidstone, at junction 8 of the M20 (Leeds Castle). From Sevenoaks it is about 35 minutes by car on the M26 and M20, the same run as our Go Ape near Sevenoaks guide describes for the Go Ape course in the castle grounds.
The castle has one warning for drivers. Once you reach the A20, follow the brown tourist signs, because sat navs can send you to a private entrance. The postcode is ME17 1RG (Leeds Castle).
Parking is included in the admission price. The main car park opens at 9.45am and shuts at 5pm.
By train, the nearest stations are Bearsted and Hollingbourne, on the line from London Victoria to Ashford. From Sevenoaks that means at least one change. Leeds Castle says it is a 5 minute taxi or a 30 to 40 minute walk from either station. The Stagecoach 510 bus comes into the grounds on Saturdays only; on other days it stops outside the Mercure Maidstone Great Danes Hotel, about a 12 minute walk away (Leeds Castle).
Arriving by train, bus or bike gets you 20% off admission. The catch is that it is redeemed at the Visitor Centre only, and you must show a ticket or receipt for the same day (Leeds Castle). If the discount comes off the £38.50 on-site price, as that implies, an adult pays £30.80, still less than the online price. Ask at the desk.
Opening times through the winter
Leeds Castle runs four sets of hours between now and the spring (Leeds Castle):
- To 19 November: grounds 10am to 5pm, castle 10.30am to 3.30pm, last entry 3pm.
- 20 November to 3 January: grounds 10am to 3.30pm, castle 10.30am to 3pm, last entry 2.30pm. No multimedia guides over Christmas.
- 4 January to 11 February 2027: weekends only, closed Monday to Friday.
- 12 February to 21 March 2027: daily, grounds 10am to 5pm, castle 10.30am to 3.30pm.
Inside those, the attractions close earlier than the grounds. Until 19 November the playgrounds, maze, beach and Bird of Prey Centre shut at 4pm, and the last round of adventure golf is at 3.30pm. The Castle View Restaurant serves 11.30am to 2.30pm.
The dates it is shut
These catch people out every year (Leeds Castle):
- Castle closed, grounds open: Friday 6 to Wednesday 11 November, for the fireworks and the Christmas set-up, and 4 and 5 January 2027.
- Whole estate closed: Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 November, except to fireworks ticket holders from 2pm.
- Christmas Day: closed.
So if you are planning a quiet November visit to see the castle rooms, avoid the week of 6 November entirely.
What there is to do
The castle. The rooms are presented as a 1930s house party thrown by Lady Baillie, the Anglo-American heiress who made Leeds Castle one of the most fashionable country houses of the 20th century. The route runs through the library, dining room, games room and drawing rooms, and down to the servants’ hall (Leeds Castle). Pushchairs are not allowed inside the castle or the Castle View Restaurant; there is a buggy park (Leeds Castle FAQs).
The maze and grotto. The maze is planted with 2,400 yew trees. It sits in a square, but its pattern is circular when seen from the mound, which makes it harder to solve. At the centre you go underground into a grotto with thunderclaps and mythical creatures (Leeds Castle).
Birds of prey. From October to March the falconry display is at 2pm and Meet the Birds at 3.30pm, listed for weekends and school holidays only. There is a keeper talk at noon daily (Leeds Castle).
For children: the Knights’ Stronghold and Squires’ Courtyard playgrounds, the Castle Kids obstacle course, the beach, and the 12-hole adventure golf, which needs no booking (Leeds Castle FAQs).
The Dog Collar Museum. One gallery of collars spanning five centuries. The oldest is a late 15th century Spanish iron collar for a herd mastiff, made to protect it from wolves and bears (Leeds Castle).
Leeds Castle does not publish a suggested visit length. With the castle open five hours and the grounds seven, we would plan on a full day.
What is on this autumn and winter
- Horrible Histories Halloween, to Sunday 1 November, included with admission. Our Halloween events near Sevenoaks page has the details.
- Fireworks Spectacular, 7 and 8 November. The Saturday is sold out and the Sunday has limited tickets (Leeds Castle). Prices and timings are on our fireworks displays page.
- Wallace and Gromit: A Cracking Christmas Caper, 21 November to 3 January, included with a daytime admission ticket. It is a trail through the castle rooms to find a stolen diamond, with live performers at weekends and in school holidays (Leeds Castle).
- Father Christmas, 21 November to 24 December, in the Gatehouse. It is a separate ticket, and you need an admission ticket as well. Sessions last about 40 minutes and suit ages 3 to 10. The event page does not show the price (Leeds Castle).
- Christmas Lights at Leeds Castle, 20 November to 3 January, an evening trail run by an outside organiser. Annual tickets are not valid for it (Leeds Castle). See our Christmas light trails comparison.
Rules worth knowing before you go
- No dogs, other than assistance dogs, because of the wildfowl that roam the estate.
- No scooters, bikes or wheeled toys in the grounds. Parent-controlled Smart Trikes for toddlers are allowed.
- No barbecues of any kind, and no drones.
- Bring your tickets, as they are scanned on entry. There is no phone booking.
All four are from the Leeds Castle FAQs. For disabled visitors, the carer ticket includes one free carer, and a free mobility bus runs across the estate (Leeds Castle).
Frequently asked questions
How much is Leeds Castle? £34.50 an adult and £24.50 a child aged 3 to 15 booked online, or £38.50 and £28 on site. Under 3s are free. A family of two adults and up to three children is £115 online (Leeds Castle).
Is a Leeds Castle ticket valid for a year? Yes. Every admission ticket gives free return visits for 12 months from the date you select when booking, apart from days the estate is closed (Leeds Castle FAQs).
Is parking free at Leeds Castle? Parking is included in the admission price for day visitors (Leeds Castle). The evening Christmas light trail is different: its parking is booked and paid for separately (Ticketek FAQ).
Can you take dogs to Leeds Castle? No. Only assistance dogs are admitted, because of the wildfowl on the estate (Leeds Castle FAQs).
Is Leeds Castle open in winter? Yes, daily until 3 January except Christmas Day and the fireworks weekend of 7 and 8 November. From 4 January to 11 February 2027 it opens at weekends only (Leeds Castle).
How far is Leeds Castle from Sevenoaks? About 35 minutes by car via the M26 and M20 to junction 8. By train it needs at least one change, to Bearsted or Hollingbourne, then a short taxi ride.
Every price, time and closure on this page was checked against Leeds Castle’s own website on 29 October 2026. Hever’s family price was checked the same day.
Have your say