Plan Your Visit

Group visits to Richborough Roman Fort and Amphitheatre

Atmospheric ruins of a Roman town and fort, earthwork remains of an amphitheatre, and a replica fort gateway on the site where the Roman invasion began in AD 43, with a small museum housing an exhibition with many archaeological finds.

Group Discount

We offer a 15% discount (10% for Stonehenge) for travel trade and organised groups of 11 or more paying visitors when payment is made in a single transaction.
Per group you also receive:

  • free entry for one tour leader
  • free entry for one coach driver

The tour leader, coach driver and any English Heritage members do not count towards the group totals.

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Booking information

Trade admission prices and opening times:

Please refer to our Trade Admission Prices & Site Opening Times brochure for pricing and opening times information at our top sites for groups. 

Making a booking:

Contact information for making your group booking can be found in the Visit & Contact Information section below.

Please include the property name and date of visit in the subject line of your email along with the following information:

  • Group name
  • Name of property
  • Tour reference/booking reference (if applicable)
  • Date and time of arrival
  • Number of visitors

Payment method:

Payment can be made on arrival by: cash, credit/debit card, Agency Voucher Scheme (AVS).

Visit & Contact information

  • Coach parking: Up to three coach spaces are available. These must be booked in advance.
  • Catering: Vending machine selling hot drinks. Shop sells a selection of snacks including crisps, cold drinks, confectionery and locally made ice cream.
  • Museum and exhibition: There is a small museum with a short film and permanent exhibition of Roman objects, that together tell the story of Roman Richborough and its people.
  • Exhibition: There is a permanent exhibition which describes many aspects of Roman life in the museum.
  • Access: Access to the site is possible via ground-reinforced grass paths, enabling wheelchairs and child buggies. Off these paths, access is open across grass surfaces, but there is also uneven ground with steep slopes, banks and steps.
  • Average length of visit: 1 hours.

Address: Off Richborough Road, Sandwich, Kent CT13 9JW

Email: richborough.castle@english-heritage.org.uk

Telephone: 01304 612013

Guided tours

Make your group visit extra special by adding a guided tour.

Guided tours must be booked in advance and are always subject to availability.

The History & Archaeology of Richborough Roman town and fort

This guided tour around the fort looks at important developments on the site from the early defences dating from the Claudian Invasion of AD 43 to the excavations of the 1920s and 30s.

Richborough was once a busy port at the entrance to the Roman province of Britannia, and the site of a huge monumental arch built to celebrate the triumph of Rome. The foundations of this monument can still be seen along with many other phases of buildings inside the walls of the late third-century fort. The tour focuses on these remains, which were uncovered and laid out for display in the 1920s and 1930s. These include an early supply base, the remains of the Arch, a mansio where visiting officials on imperial service would have stayed, the 'Saxon Shore' fort walls, and the rare remains of an early Christian baptismal font. The tour also takes in a replica gateway of the invasion period defences, built on the site of the Roman original.

  • Duration: up to 60 minutes.
  • Minimum-maximum pax: 11 - 30 pax.
  • Advance booking required: Yes, a minimum of 14 days notice is required
  • Price: Price available on enquiry.

Visit Richborough's Roman Amphitheatre

This is a guided walk, which involves following footpaths and crossing styles - suitable footwear is recommended! The remains of the Amphitheatre lie in the fields away from the Fort and are a 10 - 15 minute walk from the site shop.

This is a guided walk, which involves following footpaths across fields — suitable footwear is recommended. The remains of the earthwork amphitheatre lie in a field 10-15 minutes from the site visitor centre.

We know quite a lot about the amphitheatre, following archaeological excavations there in 2021, and the tour will provide detials of these as well as insight to the wider Roman town of Rutupiae — the Roman name for Richborough — which occupiued the area now fields fields between the amphitheatre and the Fort.

From the high vantage point of the amphitheatre it is easy to imagine how the surrounding landscape was once under the sea and the Wantsum Channel, making Richborough's position as a major port clear.

  • Duration: 60 minutes.
  • Minimum-maximum pax: maximum of 12 pax per tour. Multiple tours possible for larger groups.
  • Advance booking required: Yes, a minimum of 14 days notice is required
  • Price: Price available on enquiry.

Group Travel Support

Further support and useful resources available to group travel organisers can be found on our dedicated Group Visits webpages.

For educational groups, please visit our School Visits webpages.

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