Visitors to the Castle should be aware that the surrounding park is the subject of a major Heritage Lottery Funded restoration scheme.
Work on the HLF funded project to restore Cliffe Castle's Victorian pleasure garden is progressing well and the glasshouses, terraces amd formal beds are now finished.
Visitors should be aware that during November and December contractors will be working in the car park and grounds. This means that some areas of the grounds may be closed and that the car park may be partially disrupted due to building work on the walls and new animal houses.
Please be aware that the park Pavillion cafe is still being fitted out and that there is no cafe facility presently in place.
Airedale Gallery
The Airedale Gallery explores the fascinating geology of the district from the birth of Earth through to the formation of the underlying rocks that define the district and on to the shaping of the landscape during the last Ice Age. The gallery explores the Carboniferous Coal Measures and Millstone Grit that are famous for fuelling the Industrial Revolution that led to the birth of industrial towns & cities like Keighley, Bradford & Leeds. Throughout the gallery the visitor can view a myriad of ancient fossils from the familiar ammonites and ichthyosaurs of the Jurassic to the internationally important holotype of the early tetrapod Pholiderpeton scutigerum.
Molecules to Minerals Gallery
Our Molecules to Minerals Gallery explores the geology of rocks and minerals where visitors can learn how to identify different minerals and rocks or just enjoy the colourful beauty of what has been described by the former head of the Geology Museum as '...probably the best, as regards the range and quality of its minerals and its design, outside the major national museums’.
Natural History Gallery
The museum's Natural History Gallery is at the heart of the visitor experience displaying a variety of traditional dioramas of mammals and birds and also exploring skeletons and the evolution of insects. This gallery has been a firm favourite with visitors of all ages since Cliffe Castle Museum opened in 1960.
Admission
Free
Access and Facilities
Wheelchair access is limited to the ground floor - about three quarters of the displays. Ramped access to the cafe and some of the hillside park. Disabled parking spaces and toilet facilities.
Help for the visually impaired
Bradford Museums and Galleries are proud to announce the introduction of AppEar; a new system to help the visually impaired explore our collections. This year we have been working closely with RNIB and Bradford Talking Media to develop the use of the audio PenFriend devices, which are already widely used within the visually impaired community. Visitors can now borrow a PenFriend from our reception desk to hear visual descriptions of the surrounding displays. For more information on the introduction of the AppEar system please contact Kirsty Gaskin tel 01535 618231 email kirsty.gaskin@bradford.gov.uk
Museum Shop
The shop in the museum offers a wide range of souvenirs and gifts including cards, books and toys. Specialities include mineral specimens and jewellery, and also a selection of dinosaur books and toys.
Café
Cliffe Castle cafe is currently closed due to refurbishment work in the park.
