Tonbridge Castle is £10.90 and the audio tour is free. Checked prices and opening times for the castle, Haysden, Leybourne Lakes and Great Comp Garden.

Tonbridge has one obvious attraction and a lot of good free ones, and the borough around it adds a Norman keep, a seven-acre garden and 230 acres of lakes. Every price and opening time below was checked against the venue’s own website in August 2026, and anything we could not confirm is not on the page.

In Tonbridge

Tonbridge Castle

The gatehouse is the reason to come: it is one of the best-preserved medieval gatehouses in the country, and you climb through the great chamber, the winding stairs and the basement before going up the motte for the view over the town. The audio tour is included and takes about an hour, though you can go at your own pace, and the enclosed bailey lawn is set up for picnics.

  • Adult (16 to 66): £10.90. Seniors (67+) £7.80. Child (5 to 15) £6.83. Family, two adults and two children over 5, £29.14. Under-5s free. Carers free with proof of disability.
  • Adult season ticket: £38.50, which pays for itself in four visits.
  • Open daily: Monday to Thursday 10am to 5pm, Friday 10am to 4.30pm, weekends and bank holidays 10am to 6pm. Last entry is an hour before closing.
  • Castle Street, TN9 1BG. Ten minutes’ walk up the High Street from the station.
  • Dogs are allowed everywhere on the site.

One honest warning from the castle’s own site: it is dark in places, with life-like models some children find frightening, and there are steep steps. It is not a buggy-friendly hour. (Tonbridge Castle)

Haysden Country Park

Free, open every day of the year, and the best walk in Tonbridge. 65 hectares on the western edge of town, mixing river, grassland, freshwater lakes, marshland and woodland. It is a Local Nature Reserve, partly a Site of Nature Conservation Interest, Natural England accredited, and has held the Green Flag award since 2006.

Gates open at 7.30am every day. Closing time moves with the season: 9pm from 4 May to 23 August, then 8pm, 7pm and 6pm as the nights draw in, down to 4.30pm from 26 October. There is no call-out if you leave your car in after the gates are locked, so check the board on the way in. The café and toilets are open daily. (Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council)

Open water swimming in Haysden Water is possible but only through the licensed club, Triswim, which supervises swims. Unauthorised swimming can be fined.

The council said in June 2026 that it is exploring whether the park would be better managed by the Tonbridge and Malling Leisure Trust, and has commissioned a cost-benefit analysis. No decision has been taken, and the council says any option would keep free public access. (Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council)

Tonbridge Racecourse Sportsground

The most underrated free afternoon in the borough. On one riverside site off The Slade (TN9 1HR) there is a large play area for toddlers to teens, a skate park for skaters and BMX, four hard tennis courts, a crazy golf course, an outdoor gym, a ball court, two outdoor table tennis tables, a bowling green and a kiosk selling ice creams that also hires out the mini golf equipment, tennis courts and bowling green.

The Tonbridge Model Engineering Society’s miniature railway runs on a permanent track here through the summer months. There is also free virtual orienteering: download the MapRun app and follow a set of virtual checkpoints, or buy a printed map for £1 from the Tonbridge Castle gift shop.

Access note: the pedestrian bridge from Lower Castle Fields car park was removed in July 2026, so use the bridge near Tonbridge Swimming Pool instead. More detail on our roadworks and travel page. (Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council)

Tonbridge Swimming Pool and the Angel Centre

Tonbridge Swimming Pool has an indoor fitness pool, toddler and teaching pools, a heated outdoor pool and spa facilities, which makes it unusual for a town this size. The Angel Centre in the town centre carries the sports hall, fitness and community programme. Both are run by tmactive, the not-for-profit trust, on the council’s behalf.

Worth knowing if you are planning ahead: councillors granted planning permission in July 2026 for a £20 million replacement Angel Centre on the Sovereign Way Mid Car Park site, with soft play, a café, an expanded gym, a spin studio and three multi-purpose studios. Construction is expected to start in autumn 2026 and the new centre to open in 2028, subject to a final Full Council decision on 20 October. (Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council)

Poult Wood Golf Centre

Three miles north of Tonbridge in woodland, with an 18-hole and a nine-hole course, a driving range, pro shop and a clubhouse restaurant and bar. Also run by tmactive. (Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council)

What a day out costs across the Tonbridge and Malling borough Two columns comparing free and paid attractions. Free: Haysden Country Park, Tonbridge Racecourse Sportsground, Leybourne Lakes Country Park, Trosley Country Park, Old Soar Manor and St Leonard's Tower. Paid: Tonbridge Castle at £10.90 for an adult and £6.83 for a child, and Great Comp Garden at £12 for an adult and £4 for a child, reduced to £10.50 and £3.50 until 1 September 2026. A family of four pays £29.14 at the castle. Six free days out, two worth paying for Adult admission checked against each venue's own website, August 2026. Free to visit Haysden Country Park Tonbridge · 65 hectares · open daily from 7.30am Tonbridge Racecourse Sportsground Skate park, tennis, crazy golf, miniature railway Leybourne Lakes Country Park Larkfield · 230 acres · 7.30am to dusk Trosley Country Park North Downs above Trottiscliffe · 9am to dusk Old Soar Manor, Plaxtol c.1290 manor solar · seasonal · closed Tuesdays St Leonard's Tower, West Malling Norman keep, 1077 to 1108 · exterior only Worth the ticket Tonbridge Castle Adult £10.90 Child £6.83 Family of four £29.14 · season ticket £38.50 Audio tour included · open daily · dogs welcome Great Comp Garden, Platt Adult £12 Child £4 £10.50 and £3.50 until 1 September 2026 Open daily 1 March to 31 October, 10am to 5pm Card payments only · under 5s free Nursery only, no garden entry: free Leisure centre and golf prices are set by tmactive and change; check before you go.
Two paid attractions and six free ones, spread across both halves of the borough.

Around the borough

Leybourne Lakes Country Park, Larkfield

230 acres of restored gravel workings at ME20 6JA, managed by the Tonbridge and Malling Leisure Trust on the council’s behalf. It has held the Green Flag award for more than 15 years and has been a Local Wildlife Site since 2008.

Open 7.30am to dusk. Free to walk, with surfaced paths suitable for wheelchairs and pushchairs, waymarked trails, a children’s play area and a café. Anglers fish the Larkfield Complex for carp, pike and tench. The Leybourne Lakes Watersports Centre runs stand-up paddleboarding, SUP yoga, open water swimming, kayaking, windsurfing and scuba diving. Parking is charged, with an annual pass available. (Explore Kent)

This is the northern half of the borough’s answer to Haysden, and the watersports make it the more active of the two.

Great Comp Garden, Platt

Seven acres of garden near Borough Green, with an Italian garden, romantic ruins, woodland walks and one of the most complete salvia collections in Europe, grown by Dyson’s Nurseries within the garden.

  • Open daily 1 March to 31 October, 10am to 5pm.
  • Adult £12, child 5 to 17 £4, under 5s free, £11 for disabled visitors, students and those receiving Jobseeker’s Allowance.
  • Reduced under the Government’s Great British Summer Savings scheme until 1 September 2026: adult £10.50, child £3.50, £9.63 concession.
  • Card payments only, at the gate or online.
  • Guided tours, previously coach groups only, are now available to individual visitors.
  • The nursery can be visited free without entering the garden.

(Great Comp Garden)

Old Soar Manor, Plaxtol

A small, complete fragment of a stone manor house built around 1290: the solar, the latrine and the chapel survive, which is rare. Free entry, in English Heritage care, at Old Soar Road, Plaxtol, TN15 0QX. It opens seasonally and is closed on Tuesdays, so check the current hours before setting out. Parking is limited roadside, so park considerately for residents. (English Heritage)

St Leonard’s Tower, West Malling

An early and well-preserved free-standing Norman tower keep, built between 1077 and 1108, on St Leonard’s Street, ME19 6PD. Free, and viewable from the outside during daylight hours; there is no access to the interior. Charged parking is available in Manor Park Country Park opposite, which makes the two an easy hour together. (English Heritage)

Trosley Country Park

Chalk grassland on the North Downs escarpment above Trottiscliffe, with the car park entrance at Vigo (DA13 0SG) just over the Gravesham boundary. Managed by Kent County Council, open 9am to dusk or 9pm, whichever is earlier, closed Christmas Day. There is the Bluebell Café, toilets, picnic areas, an outdoor trim trail and three waymarked trails: blue for a steep climb, red for a gentle walk and yellow for wheelchairs and buggies. The slopes are a Site of Special Scientific Interest and good for chalk grassland butterflies. (Explore Kent)

Larkfield Leisure Centre

The bigger of the borough’s two pool complexes, with leisure and fitness pools, slides and water features, a gym, spa, sports hall and soft play. Run by tmactive. (Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council)

Planning a day

With small children and no budget: Tonbridge Racecourse Sportsground for the play area, crazy golf and, in summer, the miniature railway, then a walk into Haysden. Both are free and about twenty minutes apart on foot.

With a car and a whole day: Great Comp Garden in the morning, Old Soar Manor fifteen minutes away at Plaxtol in the afternoon. One costs £12, the other nothing.

Wet weather: Tonbridge Castle is largely indoors, and the audio tour fills an hour. Larkfield Leisure Centre and Tonbridge Swimming Pool are the other reliable answers.

Without a car: Tonbridge Castle, the sportsground and Haysden are all walkable from Tonbridge station. West Malling station puts you within reach of St Leonard’s Tower and Manor Park.

Frequently asked questions

How much does Tonbridge Castle cost?

£10.90 for an adult, £7.80 for over-67s, £6.83 for a child aged 5 to 15 and £29.14 for a family of two adults and two children. Under-5s and carers go free. An adult season ticket is £38.50.

Is Haysden Country Park free?

Yes, and it is open every day of the year from 7.30am. Closing time varies by season, from 4.30pm in midwinter to 9pm in high summer. There is a café and toilets on site.

Can you swim at Haysden or Leybourne Lakes?

Only through a licensed club. Haysden Water is used by Triswim and Leybourne Lakes by the Leybourne Lakes watersports operation, both of which supervise swims. Unauthorised swimming in the council’s lakes is not allowed and can be fined.

What is there to do in Tonbridge when it rains?

Tonbridge Castle’s gatehouse tour is mostly indoors and takes about an hour. Tonbridge Swimming Pool and Larkfield Leisure Centre are the two indoor pools, and Larkfield also has soft play.

Is there anything free to do in the north of the borough?

Yes. Leybourne Lakes Country Park at Larkfield is free to walk, St Leonard’s Tower at West Malling is free to view, and Trosley Country Park above Trottiscliffe is free apart from parking.

Is Tonbridge Castle dog friendly?

Yes. The castle’s own site says dogs have access to all areas.

Related

Sources

Prices and opening times were checked in August 2026 and do change, particularly seasonal closing times and leisure centre charges. Confirm with the venue before you travel.