Portchester Castle Visitor Guide: Times, Parking, Dogs

What is Portchester Castle and where is it?

Portchester Castle is an English Heritage site on Church Road, Portchester, Hampshire, PO16 9QW, on the south side of Portchester. English Heritage describes the castle as a Roman fort whose walls became the outer defences of a later Norman castle, with a keep inside and a parish church in one corner. The English Heritage Portchester Castle page is the place to check before you set off.

What is there to see at Portchester Castle?

The Roman walls are the first thing you notice. According to English Heritage's description of the castle, the fort had 20 regularly spaced D-shaped towers, of which 16 remain, and the walls still stand to a height of 6.1 metres more than 1,700 years after they were built.

Inside the walls there are two main areas. The inner bailey sits in the north-west corner, and contains the remains of royal apartments. The great tower, or keep, stands more than 30 metres high and was built in stages between the 1130s and 1320s. English Heritage says visitors can climb it for views across the Solent, and describes it as 100ft high on its visitor page. The same page mentions exhibits about prisoners held at the castle, including displays on Napoleonic-era prisoners and on African-Caribbean soldiers, the Prisoner's Theatre and World Builder challenge trails.

In the south-east corner is St Mary's church. English Heritage notes that it began as part of an Augustinian monastery founded inside the fort in about 1128, and that the church is not in the care of English Heritage. It is a working parish church, so check with the church if you want to know when it is open to visitors.

Portchester Castle opening times

English Heritage's page showed the castle open daily, 10am to 5pm, with last entry at 4.30pm, in October 2026. Hours at English Heritage sites change by season, and often shorten in winter, so please look at the prices and opening times page for your date of visit before travelling. For questions, English Heritage lists the castle on 02392 378291 and its customer line on 0370 333 1181.

How much does Portchester Castle cost?

Ticket prices are shown by date in English Heritage's online booking tool, so check the prices page for the current adult, child and family rates. English Heritage says tickets are free for English Heritage members, who should bring their membership card, and that booking online until midnight the day before your visit saves 15 per cent compared with buying on the day. Tickets are valid all day, so you can arrive at any time and stay as long as you like.

Parking at Portchester Castle

English Heritage's facilities page says there is charged parking 200 metres from the castle entrance, and that it is not managed by English Heritage. The access page adds that there are some allocated disabled spaces in the public car park. The directions page gives the postcode PO16 9QW for satnav and says the castle is on the south side of Portchester, off the A27, with Junction 11 of the M27 the nearest motorway exit. Parking charges are set by the car park operator, so check the signs on arrival. For Fareham town parking, see our town centre parking guide.

Getting to Portchester Castle by train and bus

English Heritage says Portchester station is 1 mile from the castle, and that First bus service 3 stops within a quarter of a mile. Services and timetables change, so check the operator before travelling, and see our Fareham buses guide and train stations guide. English Heritage also points cyclists to the National Cycle Network via sustrans.org.uk.

Access, dogs and facilities

English Heritage's access page says wheelchair access is via the drawbridge and level, smooth grass, with the ground floors of the keep and the exhibition reachable by ramp. Compacted gravel paths lead to the outer bailey and Roman walls, and there are wooden benches around the site. It warns that the keep has low lighting, that there are low ruined walls, historic steps and extensive uneven surfaces, that moat banks are steep, and that stone and wooden stairs can be slippery when wet. Upper levels of the keep are not accessible by wheelchair. Assistance dogs are welcome and interpretation boards have large print.

The facilities page says dogs on leads are welcome throughout the site. English Heritage's pages give different information about toilets, so check its facilities page before you travel. A gift shop sells snacks, toys, games, stationery, souvenirs and guidebooks, and a small selection of snacks and hot and cold drinks is sold on site.

A short history of Portchester Castle

English Heritage's history page says the Roman coastal fort was built around AD 285, as one of the coastal forts now known as the Forts of the Saxon Shore. In 904 the Bishop of Winchester granted it to King Edward the Elder, making it a defensive burh against Viking raids.

After 1066, William I granted Portchester to William Mauduit, and a keep was built and later raised in height in the mid-12th century. English Heritage says an Augustinian monastery was founded inside the fort in about 1128. Richard II rebuilt the inner bailey as a miniature palace in 1396 to 1399. In 1415 Henry V launched his invasion of France from Portchester, which led to Agincourt.

From 1665 the castle was used as a prisoner-of-war camp, housing up to 8,000 prisoners at one time during the Napoleonic Wars (1793 to 1815), including Caribbean prisoners. The Thistlethwayte family, who acquired it in 1632, placed it under government guardianship in 1926, and English Heritage took over its care in 1984.