Last weekend, Elliot and I headed to Somerset for the weekend in the campervan. We had a few things planned but the real reason for going was to go on a guided tour of Shepton Mallet Prison. I received the tickets for Christmas and, spoiler alert, we had a really good morning exploring the prison and hearing all about its (gruesome) history.
Shepton Mallet Prison Guided Tour Review
We booked onto the Sunday morning guided tour and were with 6 others in our tour group. They do have a visitor car park on site but it's worth noting that it's quite small, not very obviously signposted, and also costs £3 to park. We had the directions to the prison in Google Maps but found it was easier when we had the car park's postcode (BA4 5PE) entered.
We all met in the visitor's center (the old visiting area) and our tour began outside. (Take your coat, there was quite a lot of time spent outside in the cold!) Jason, our guide, explained the origins of the prison, what it had been used for over the years, and also what its plans are for the future. The prison itself shut in 2013 and a lot of it has been left as-is since then.
The highest point of the walls is 75ft, which is quite impressive, to say the least. What's even more impressive is hearing the stories of how prisoners managed to get over them and down to the local pub, before getting caught by officers off duty and taken back!
One thing that did strike me about the tour and the 'attraction' is that it hasn't been over glamourised or worked on. There are information boards scattered around but other than that, a lot of it has been left as it was. It isn't full of theatrics. That said, one of the wings of cells is actually used in a lot of filming (including 'Des') so it's a little more well-kept than the others.
We also saw the wing where lots of important documents were stored during WW2 as well as the pretty somber hanging room. Jason told us stories of; prisoners escaping, its time as a military prison, fires in the rooves, the Victorians' 'hard labour' punishments, and some of the alleged ghost encounters.
The guided tours are £22 each, and the self-guided tours are £15. In all honesty, I wouldn't even consider the self-guided tour. Without Jason and his enthusiasm and knowledge, we wouldn't have come away with half of the stories that we did. During the summer months, they also do sleepovers where you can book in to stay the night in a cell! This is £65 but you do need to take your own pillow, duvet, and mattress.
If you're considering booking a Shepton Mallet Guided Tour, absolutely do it! It was fantastic and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who's interested!
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