Plan your trip

We have a wide range of materials to support your visit and make school trip planning easy. Download our free resources to help you make the most out of your visit and create unique learning experiences before, during and after your trip.

We also offer free planning visits for group leaders once you have made a booking. Our Education Booking Team is on hand to advise and help you create the best possible school trip to suit your needs and area of study.

• Facilities
  • PARKING: Free parking for cars and minibuses under 3m in height.  Coach parking if available off site at the council-run Pay and Display car park on Castle Hill.
  • TOILETS:  Toilets, including accessible toilets, located at all main areas of the property.
  • LUNCH: You are welcome to bring a picnic to enjoy in the grounds, and two picnic rooms are available on site, on a first-come, first-served basis. There are also two cafés, available for use by all visitors. 
  • SHOP:  There are two well-stocked shops on site which both sell a range of books and gifts. We recommend bringing your students in small groups at a time.
  • EDUCATION ROOM: The education room is available to pre-book, located in the Great Tower yard. Try on costumes, read about knights and princesses in our Story-Telling Room and get hands-on with our handling collection. 
  • ACCESSIBILITY:  Extensive grounds mainly accessible on tarmac paths, but some steep slopes. Wheelchair accessible route available on request. Land train stops at various parts of the site and can be used by students with limited mobility.  Mobility scooters also available (to visitors over 18) if requested in advance. Unfortunately the Underground Hospital is not accessible for wheelchair users.

• Hazard Information

  A useful tool to help with your risk assessments.

  • Dover Castle Hazard Information.pdf (68.3 KB)

• Discovery Visits

  Our Discovery Visit Guide provides you with everything you need to know about our expert-led Discovery Visits at Dover Castle. It includes a breakdown of the learning objectives and details on how to prepare for the sessions.

  • Dover Castle Discovery Visit Guide (KS1-KS3).pdf (420 KB)

• Risk Assessments

  Our ready-made Discovery Visit Risk Assessments take the hassle out of planning.

  • Knights, Feasts and Garderobes Risk Assessment.pdf (62.1 KB)
  • Secret Codes and Ciphers Risk Assessment.pdf (62.2 KB)

• Learning Resources

  A Teachers' Kit is a free educational tool packed with everything you need to give your group a deep insight into the place you are visiting. Featuring historical information, suggestions for activities, and high-quality images, this resource is a comprehensive toolkit for group leaders of various subjects and key stages. Teachers' Kits also include key site information, facilities and plans.

  • Dover Castle Teachers' Kit (KS1-KS4+).pdf (50.3 MB)
    
    

  This activity will immerse your students in the world of WW1 codes and signals. This resource includes notes for teachers and activity sheets for students. 

  • Dover Castle First World War Team Training Assignment (KS3-KS4).pdf (79.2 MB)
    
    

  With all history GCSEs now requiring a study of the historic environment, we’ve also created a site proposal form to help you with your planning in conjunction with OCR.

  • Dover Castle OCR Spec B: History Around Us (GCSE).pdf (307 KB)
    
    

  These edited and translated versions of our Teachers' Kit are available to support you and your group if you're visiting from another country. 

  • Dover Castle Teachers' Kit (French).pdf (6.9 MB)
  • Dover Castle Teachers' Kit (German).pdf (6.8 MB)