Historic house · Bishop Auckland · County Durham

Auckland Castle

Auckland Castle is a castle in the town of Bishop Auckland in County Durham. Its status is a Grade I listed building. Our list has 24 more places within 15 km; first among them is Durham Castle, at 14 km.

Photo: Auckland Castle, Pit-yacker (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Where

In Bishop Auckland

inside the built-up area

Run by

English Heritage

a national heritage body

How well known

Top 7%

#525 of 8,556 places we list

Warmest months

Jun–Sep

highs of 17–20°C

In brief

Historic house in Bishop Auckland

One of the best-known places to visit in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

#525 of the 8,556 museums, castles, gardens and other attractions we list, by how widely it is covered (10 Wikipedias). About ↓

Inside Bishop Auckland

Auckland Castle is inside Bishop Auckland’s built-up area, with 6 more places to visit within 5 km. Towns near it ↓

Cared for by English Heritage

One of the places English Heritage looks after; members usually get in free. About ↓

Grade I listed building

On the official list of protected heritage; Bishop Auckland has 92 listed buildings in all, on its History page. About ↓

Written from OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, the ONS built-up areas and Met Office 1991–2020 averages.

When to go

The climate through the year

June to September are the warmest in Bishop Auckland, with afternoon highs of 17–20°C.

Jan7° / 1°55 mm

Feb7° / 1°51 mm

Mar10° / 2°46 mm

Apr12° / 4°51 mm

May15° / 6°45 mm

Jun18° / 9°59 mm

Jul20° / 11°60 mm

Aug20° / 11°73 mm

Sep17° / 9°64 mm

Oct13° / 6°69 mm

Nov10° / 3°65 mm

Dec7° / 1°66 mm

Green months are the warmest. Typical afternoon highs and night lows in Bishop Auckland, and rain in a month. Met Office HadUK-Grid 1991–2020 averages for Bishop Auckland. Opening times change through the year: check before you go. Bishop Auckland’s full climate →

About

Auckland Castle

Care of the site is provided by English Heritage. Wikipedia covers it in 10 languages.

Bishop Auckland’s listed buildings and monuments →

Type: Historic house
Run by: English Heritage
Listed: Grade I listed building
Wikipedias: Covered in 10 languages
Town: in Bishop Auckland
Official site: aucklandproject.org/venues/auckland-castle

Facts: Wikidata (CC0) and OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors).

The map

Where Auckland Castle is

Orange shows Auckland Castle; numbers mark the places near it.

Towns near it

Towns near Auckland Castle

Home to 23,359 people, Bishop Auckland is the largest of these 8. Every one of these towns counts it as a place to visit.

1 · It’s in town

Bishop Auckland

23,359 people · 10 places to visit

2 · 2 km east of it

Coundon and Leeholme

2,522 people · 9 places to visit

3 · 2.3 km southeast of it

Eldon Lane and Coundon Grange

995 people · 8 places to visit

4 · 3 km south of it

Shildon

9,650 people · 9 places to visit

Compare the 8 towns

Town	Where Auckland Castle is	People	Places to visit
Bishop Auckland	It’s in town	23,359	10
Coundon and Leeholme	2 km east of it	2,522	9
Eldon Lane and Coundon Grange	2.3 km southeast of it	995	8
Shildon	3 km south of it	9,650	9
Spennymoor	3.1 km northeast of it	20,401	12
Hunwick	3.1 km northwest of it	657	8
Witton Park	3.2 km west of it	333	8
Byers Green	3.5 km north of it	829	9

Make a day of it

More to see nearby

Within 15 km you can add 4 castles, 2 museums and a cathedral.

CastleDurham Castle14 km away 2

CathedralDurham Cathedral13 km away 3

MuseumLocomotion - The National Railway Museum at Shildon5.4 km away · 94K visitors a year 4

CastleRaby Castle12 km away 5

CastleWitton Castle6 km away 6Theme parkTheme parkKynren600 m away 7

CastleBrancepeth Castle7.6 km away 8

MuseumOriental Museum12 km away · 19K visitors a year

Within 15 km, close and well known first. Numbers match the map.

Auckland Castle: common questions

Where is Auckland Castle?

Auckland Castle is in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, inside the town’s built-up area.

What is Auckland Castle?

Castle in the town of Bishop Auckland in County Durham, England, UK.

Who runs Auckland Castle?

English Heritage, so members usually get in free; check opening times before you go.

When is the best time to visit Auckland Castle?

June to September are the warmest months in Bishop Auckland, with afternoon highs of 17–20°C (Met Office 1991–2020 averages).

Is Auckland Castle a listed building?

Yes: Grade I listed building.

What else is there to see near Auckland Castle?

Within 15 km: Durham Castle (14 km), Durham Cathedral (13 km), Locomotion - The National Railway Museum at Shildon (5.4 km) and Raby Castle (12 km).

Places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database Licence) and Wikidata (CC0), placed in the ONS 2022 built-up area (Open Government Licence v3.0). Visitor counts are the latest Wikidata gives, with their year.

Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).

Photo credits (8)

Auckland Castle: Pit-yacker, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Durham Castle: Carla Brain, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Durham Cathedral: Benjamin Smith, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Locomotion - The National Railway Museum at Shildon: Hugh Mortimer, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Raby Castle: malcolm tebbit, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Witton Castle: Hugh Mortimer, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Brancepeth Castle: Oliver Dixon, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Oriental Museum: Wereon, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.